Is Short Cycling Bad for a Furnace in Ware, MA? How Do You Fix Cycling?

If you have a furnace in your home to keep you warm during the winter months, you know that there are several things that can cause it to malfunction. Knowing what these issues are and how to fix them is one of the best ways to ensure you are warm all throughout the winter. One that is extremely common is short cycling. Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning is here to talk about short cycling and what can cause your furnace to have this problem.

What Short Cycling Looks Like

If you have noticed that your furnace is turning on, only to shut off moments later, it is more than likely short cycling. This happens when your furnace isn’t able to complete an entire heat cycle before shutting off. The heat cycle for your furnace involves several steps including:
– Thermostat registers the temperature is below the heat setting
– Furnace turns on to start heating
– Heat is produced and distributed throughout the home
– When house reaches temperature, the furnace shuts off
If this entire cycle can’t happen, it is known as short cycling and is a huge issue that needs to be addressed to keep your furnace from failing completely.

Common Causes for Short Cycling

Short cycling is an issue that can be caused by a number of different issues in your furnace. We would like to take a closer look at some of the most common causes for this furnace issue:
– Airflow Issues: The airflow into your furnace is essential for it to run properly. The airflow in your furnace can be restricted a couple different ways. The most common is a dirty air filter. If the air filter isn’t changed often enough, it can have a negative impact on the furnace and short cycling is one of them. Another common airflow issue comes from obstructed vents. Make sure they are cleaned out so that the heat is evenly distributed throughout the house and short cycling doesn’t happen.
– Thermostat Problems: You need to check your thermostat too if you’re experiencing short cycling. If your thermostat isn’t hardwired into your home, you need to think about battery replacement. This is an easy one to forget. Also, your thermostat might need to be replaced entirely if it is getting old and starting to malfunction.
– Oversized Furnace: A common issue that causes short cycling is also an oversized furnace. Your furnace needs to be sized properly so that short cycling isn’t an issue you run into.

Central Heating Furnace & Boiler Maintenance, Repairs, Replacement, Emergency Repairs & More in Springfield, Granby, Holyoke, South Hadley, Monson, Chicopee & Agawam, Massachusetts

If you have short cycling that you can’t fix on your own, you can turn to Ambient Heating & Air Conditioning to figure out what’s causing it. This can be difficult to do on your own if you don’t know how your furnace works. Our technicians will get your furnace fixed so you don’t have to worry about being uncomfortable this winter. Call us today!

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