If you are concerned that your furnace may not be working… whether your furnace is not turning on or if your furnace is blowing cold air, there are some initial checks you can do yourself.
If your furnace is not working, first ask yourself if anyone has been around or adjusted your HVAC system recently.
Sometimes your furnace power switch can be turned off or a furnace door does not get closed properly which can cause your furnace to not work.
These are innocent problems that when found, can save you a service call!
Other things to check when your furnace is not working:
1. A dirty filter could cause your furnace to not work.
2. If your furnace vents out the side of your house, make sure the vent is not blocked.
3. Make sure your thermostat is set to heat with a temperature that would call for heat.
If all of the above suggestions are in order and your furnace is still not working, try to do a reset of your furnace. Shut off the power to the furnace for about 10 seconds and then turn it back on. Sometimes that can help.
Today is my first time changing my electronic air cleaner filter since it was installed.
My HVAC Dad installed my MicroPower Guard Electronic Air Cleaner about two and a half months ago.
Now that it is time to change the filter…I’m a little intimidated.
There are a lot of wires and electronic-looking things I don’t want to mess up. So, I call my Dad and ask for help. He walks me through all the steps to successfully change my electronic air cleaner filter without damaging my HVAC unit.
It is important to properly shut off power to the system before you change the air filter. Shut off power to the furnace at the switch located near your furnace.
2. Unplug the cord from the top of the MicroPower Guard and slide out the metal frame.
3. Carefully remove the media from the frame. The dust will easily fall off if you shake it so have a trash bag nearby. Also pay attention to the direction the media was inserted.
4. Insert the clean filter with the large black carbon portion coming into contact with the silver electrode attached to the frame.
5. Snap the frame shut and slide back into the filter slot.
6. Plug in the MicroPower Guard.
7. Turn the furnace switch back to the on position.
Watch this video for a step by step process of changing your MicroPower Guard Air Filter:
Does your furnace have to be off when you are changing your air filter?
Yes, it is best to turn your furnace off. There are a couple of reasons for that.
1. Your filter is already dirty. When you go to change your filter you are moving it around and disrupting dirt and dust. If your furnace blower is on, it will pull all that dirt and dust that was dislodged into your HVAC system. (Which is the whole point of having a filter…to stop that from happening.)
2. If you try to change your filter with the unit on, there is air pressure that makes the process more difficult. There’s actually a suction being pulled into the blower compartment so as you pull your filter out, it has an extra pressure on it. The filter may not want to slide out quite as easily or it may begin to hang up. With the furnace turned off, the filter is much freer to pull and move around.
Make sure your furnace is turned back on. If you forget to turn the system back on it may take most of the day to figure out that there is a problem and your HVAC has not been running. We’ve had many calls from people who think that their furnace or air conditioner is not working where after a little questioning, we discover that they changed their filter earlier in the day and they did not turn the unit back on.
WHICH WAY DOES FURNACE FILTER GO?
Which direction does the filter go? There is a right way to change your furnace air filter.
There is typically an arrow on the filter.
Point the arrow toward the furnace.
Everyone’s filter is in a different location, but there is an airflow direction on the filter and you always point that arrow toward the furnace.
We get asked this question often: Should I do something to my air conditioner to prepare it for winter? The simple answer is no. The air conditioner was made to be outside and made to handle the elements. However, we do have a few tips that will help your air conditioner look better longer and be better prepared for the first time you use the air conditioner in the spring.
One possible idea to get your air conditioner ready for winter: Gently wash your outdoor unit with water before the winter weather hits. Take a light stream of water and gently wash the outdoor unit in a downward direction. Do not mess with any electrical components or try to take the unit apart to wash the inside. A professional cleaning should be done on your air conditioner one time per year. However, it does not hurt anything and could even help your air conditioner run better in the early spring when you first need it, if you wash off any excess dirt off the outdoor coils as late in the season as possible.
Another idea to get your air conditioner ready for winter: Wax the outdoor unit with a common car wax to protect the paint from the elements. Just a simple product such as Turtle Wax is all you need to add a protective layer to the paint on the outdoor unit. It doesn’t do anything for the performance of your air conditioner, but it will keep it looking nicer for years to come.
Should you cover your air conditioner for winter?
Covering your air conditioner for the winter is not necessary. However, you may want to cover the top of your air conditioner for the winter if your air conditioning unit is near a tree that drops a lot of leaves or if you expect to get an extreme amount of snow or ice. Again, air conditioners are made to be outside, but if your unit gets alot of tree leaves or acorns, this could attract rodents that may be attracted to it as a nesting spot. Keeping the amount of leaves, acorns, etc out of your unit could save it from being used as a next for rodents that could chew threw wires and damage the unit.
How to cover your air conditioner the right way:
If you feel the need to cover your air conditioner, be sure to only cover the top. Covering it all the way around can trap in moisture and will not allow the unit to dry. The main goal in covering the outdoor unit is to keep leaves and debris from falling into your unit. See below for an example of a good ac cover that only covers the top of the unit.
Important: if you cover your unit…make a note to yourself somewhere to make sure to take the cover off before you turn on your air conditioner for the first time. Running your air conditioner while it is covered can be very harmful to your hvac system.
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In this video we share what to do when air conditioner freezes up. One of our air conditioner tips for summer is knowing what to do when you have a frozen evaporator coil, or a frozen air conditioner. A frozen air conditioner is a common air conditioner problem and you can help yourself by first turning everything off. You need to get the ice off the coil in order to fix the problem with your air conditioner.
If your air conditioner is not blowing cold air, it could be a frozen coil so after you confirm that your coil is frozen and you turn everything off, you should change your furnace air filter. Air flow is a common air conditioner problem and could cause your air conditioner to freeze. You should also have a professional air conditioner tune up to check to make sure you have a proper refrigerant charge. You should also check to make sure something is not stuck on.
These air conditioner tips for summer will help you save on an air conditioner repair and know what to do when air conditioner freezes up. If you keep a clean air filter and maintain a proper refrigerant change to your air conditioner. We also explain more about why does your air conditioner freeze up and more helpful air conditioner information for homeowners from One Hour Heating and Air Conditioning.
UV Light Maintenance is extremely important if you want your UV Light to kill germs and bacteria to it’s fullest ability. It is important to change your uv light bulbs every year or every two years depending on the type of UV bulbs you use. If the UV light is not maintained properly it will not function at it’s best capacity.
We also discuss the best placement for your UV light as the UV light location is dependent on what you want to achieve with your UV light. Finally we discuss how to get the best performance by adjusting your fan or blower speed.
Today we follow along on an HVAC UV Light Installation. We are installing an Oxyquantum LED UV Light sterilization system alongside a Micropower Guard Electronic Air Cleaner. Ramon walks us through the UV Light Installation and explains how a UV Light works and how a UV Light can kill germs, bacteria and viruses.
We explain why an HVAC UV Light is worth it as it makes your indoor air feel as though there was sunshine cleaning it!
The best setting for your hvac uv sterilization system is to set to high and make sure the bulbs have been changed within the last two years if you have an Oxyquantum LED UV System.
There are settings you can change on your heating and air conditioning system for optimal protection against viruses, allergens and anything else you don’t want flying around your indoor air.
In this video we give you some simple settings for your hvac system to prevent viruses as well as settings for your humidifier and uv light for germ protection.
We encourage you to set your fan to “on” so your indoor air is constantly circulating through your filtration system. Use your variable drive blower motor to circulate the air 24/7 for the maximum amount of filtration. Does humidity kill viruses? We recommend you set your humidifier to 40%-50? humidity as viruses are less viable in that amount of humidity.
The best setting for your hvac uv sterilization system is to set to high and make sure the bulbs have been changed within the last two years if you have an Oxyquantum LED UV System.
Many people are understandably concerned about viruses. In this video we answer the question: Can a residential UV light kill a virus?
We have installed UV lights for years, but there is more interest at the moment so in this video we answer frequently asked questions about residential uv lights and if they can kill viruses, bacteria, can a uv light help when you have an illness, and if our clients feel like they are worth it.
Do you have a freezing basement or any uncomfortable hot or cold spots in your house? We go through three simple options ranging from low tech to high tech for fixing hot spots and cold spots in your house and specifically how to warm up your basement. Beginning with opening or closing specific dampers, sealing up leaky spots on your duct work and ending with a zoning system, hopefully we have an option that will work for you.
