Your furnace will automatically turn on when the air has become too cold via its sensors. When the temperature reaches the set comfort level (usually determined by the thermostat), the furnace will turn itself off, automatically. Your home’s furnace requires 1-2 routine maintenance every year, this is to keep the unit running efficiently throughout its lifespan.

Now that you understand how your furnace is supposed to work you can now conclude that it if your furnace is repeatedly cycling on and off, it is knocking on the door for an overdue inspection/repair.

If you are unable to fix the furnace on your own, then you should call a professional from Sub:BusinessName} to help you diagnose where the problem is coming from.

Problem: Furnace Short Cycling

Short Cycling – This is the term we use to describe a furnace turning on and off without the thermostat’s instructions.

This problem can be from the inside of the furnace.

  • Allowing your furnace to continue short cycling can permanently damage your furnace.
  • Short cycling furnaces require more energy to operate, this means higher energy bills for your home.

Our technicians can diagnose exactly what is wrong with your home’s furnace. How one of our heating technicians will do this is by running a test cycle on your heating unit and counting how many times it stops and restarts in a span of an hour.

Check Your Thermostat

A faulty thermostat can be the cause of your furnace short cycling; this means your heating system itself might not have any issues at all. The first thing you should check when trying to pinpoint the problem of the short cycling is your thermostat. Check to see if your thermostat for accuracy.

Take into consideration:

  • The placement of your thermostat: When your thermostat is too close to another heat source it can disturb its readings by reading it is too hot in your home.

Try Cleaning your Air Filters

Check to see if your air filters are covered in dirt, clean if dirty and check to see if this action fixes your problem. When your air filters are dirty, warm air cannot pass through the filter, and it backs up the heating system.

When the warm air fails to pass through, the system automatically will make the assumption that your home has reached its comfortable, warm temperature, which will result in the unit shutting off. Because your home is not warm, the sensors will detect that the home is cold again using its sensors and the process repeats itself. Your dirty air filters are the cog in the operating efficiency of your heating system.

Pro Tip: Check your air filters every month and make sure they are not dirty. Replace your air filters before every season.

Call a Heating and Cooling Technician Today!

If you have determined that the cause of your furnace short cycling is not because of a malfunctioning thermostat or because of dirty air filters, then you will need to call a heating technician to diagnose and repair the problem.

Other possible reasons for short cycling require help from a professional technician.

  • Improperly sized heating system (this will need to be replaced)
  • Corroded Flame Sensor
  • Foreign objects lodged in air vents or chimney

Call our A+ rated heating company American Comfort One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning today to schedule an appointment with one of our trained North Bay professional technicians. We have served Elk Grove Village and the state of Illinois for decades.

Call: (847) 744-9447 or Contact Us.