When winter winds howl and falling snow rapidly covers the ground, families depend on their household's heating system to keep them warm and safe. In this type of weather, the loss of heat can quickly turn into a life-threatening event, especially if there are very young or elderly family members or someone with a health condition that could be worsened by falling temperatures inside the home. 

If you are a homeowner who has noticed that the interior of your home has become less comfortable and your furnace is no longer cycling and producing heat, one or more of these common heating system repair issues may be causing your problem. 

Electric furnace repair issues 

Furnaces that use electricity to produce heat and then distribute the warmed air through ducts using a blower system are the most common type of furnaces used in residential housing today. Homeowners whose electric furnaces have completely stopped working may be dealing with an electric issue of some type that has interrupted the power supply by tripping the breaker in the home's electrical panel. 

If the breaker is found to be tripped, homeowners should first try resetting the breaker to the on position to see if the furnace restarts. If the furnace does begin to operate correctly and continues to function normally, the problem may have been related to an electrical surge that caused the breaker to trip.

In cases where the furnace does not immediately restart upon resetting the breaker or when the breaker continues to trip, an electrical short or other serious electrical issue could be occurring, which will require calling an emergency heating system repair service in order to address the problem. 

Gas furnace repair issues

Furnaces that use natural gas, propane, or heating oil as fuel can experience serious repair issues that result in a total loss of warmth in the home. When homeowners note that their gas or oil furnace is either not working at all or is cycling without producing heat, they should first check that fuel is still available to the system.

Another common emergency repair issue common to gas and oil furnaces involves the burner systems where the fuel is actually burned to produce heat. When burner systems fail, the system's blowers and electrical controls may still function, even though no heat is being produced. 

Homeowners who are experiencing any type of furnace outage during winter weather will find that contacting an HVAC service that specializes in emergency heating system repairs is the most reliable way to safely restore heat to the family home. Reach out to a local company like IMS Heating & Air Inc to learn more.