When it comes to furnace maintenance and repairs, it is always better to be safe than sorry. While the need for repairs may seem like a minor inconvenience, the long term consequences of a failed furnace can be much more painful. After all, you don’t want your furnace to stop working all of a sudden during the cold winter months when you need it the most. Here are a few warning signs, some obvious and some more subtle, which can give you an early indication that you’re in need of furnace repair.

You Keep Creeping Up Your Thermostat Setting

It is often easy to write off the necessity for higher thermostat settings to the air growing colder outside, but that is not necessarily the only reason you have the need to keep cranking it up. A furnace in ill repair may not fail completely, but instead slowly stop working up to its normal potential and efficiency. If you find yourself turning up the heat even more often than usual on a cold day, it’s probably time to call a furnace repair technician.

Unusually High Electric Bills

Just as with the ever-rising thermostat, it can be easy to write off high energy bills during the winter thanks to the cold outside air. Older furnaces tend to be less efficient than modern models, and broken older furnaces even less so. Less efficiency means that your furnace needs to use more energy to achieve the desired results. A repaired or replaced furnace can save you money on energy bills, and correct problems that result in unusually high bills at a given time.

Yellow Pilot Light

A yellow pilot light is a sign that something is wrong with the gas combination of your furnace. When the gas combination is right, your pilot light should burn blue. If your pilot light is yellow, a furnace repair technician can diagnose and fix the problem.

Trouble Starting or Staying Running

There are many electrical problems that can cause your furnace to have trouble getting started, or continue running. These can come from poor wiring or a malfunctioning thermostat, among other things.

If you notice your furnace acting irregularly, or your energy bills going through the roof, it’s best to call a furnace service technician before things get any worse. A skilled technician will get your furnace running again, keeping you warm through the cold winter months.

Bruni & Campisi is committed to helping the Westchester, Stamford and Greenwich communities. If you think you need furnace repair, call us at 914-229-2809 or fill out the contact form today.