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Is your electric furnace not blowing hot air? We’ve got your back. It is wintertime and you’re probably turning on your heater more than a few times. If your electric furnace is not working, do not ignore it, you need to act. Cold temperatures are not healthy for you and your pets.
Electric furnaces are built with many different components with varying functions. That’s why, when your furnace isn’t working and you want to troubleshoot it, you need to start troubleshooting it with those parts that often cause problems.
In this guide, we have compiled several reasons for your furnace not blowing hot air and what you can do to bring it back on.
Why Is My Electric Furnace Not Blowing Hot Air?
When you discover that your electric furnace is not blowing hot air, go through the following list of possible causes. And besides, we have also provided solutions for each of the possible causes we have given.
1. Your Thermostat
You don’t want to go far when you start troubleshooting your electric furnace. You’ll be surprised to learn that your thermostat is the commonest reason you are not getting any warm air out of your air vents. Check that your thermostat doesn’t have these issues.
Is Somebody Else Adjusting Your Furnace Thermostat?
It’s a good idea to counter check the temperature that is set on your thermostat. Somebody else at your office or home might have adjusted the thermostat to their comfort. If you own a programmable thermostat, it wouldn’t hurt to check it once more to make sure it was correctly programmed.
- Solution: A lot of times thermostats are mistakenly programmed. After checking your thermostat and you notice that it was inadvertently adjusted, simply set it to the temperature that you need, and you should have hot air coming through your vents. But if you notice that your thermostat settings were not tempered and are all great, then move on to the next step.
Check your Thermostat’s Battery
Batteries in your furnace thermostat can stay for a long time before replacing them. That’s why its very easy to forget about having them replaced. When the battery is low, it can cause the thermostat to send faulty temperature signals to the furnace.
- Solution: Swapping the battery with a new one should have the problem fixed. A Battery doesn’t have to be completely dead to cause problems with your furnace.
Fan is Set to “ON”
Make sure the fan is not set to “ON”. Your furnace does not run continuously. It takes breaks when the set point on you thermostat is reached. But if your fan is set to “on”, it will continue blowing air continuously even when the furnace is taking a break. But the air that will come out of your vents will not be hot. This could be another reason for your electric furnace not blowing hot air.
- Solution: If the fan is set to “ON”, change it, set it to “Auto”. Setting it to auto will allow the fan to coordinate with your furnace so that, when the thermostat is in the heating cycle, the fan will blow. And when your furnace goes on break, the fan will not blow air too. Alternatively, you can change the fan setting to heat so that, it will only blow when the furnace is in the heat cycle.
2. The Circuit Breaker
The circuit breaker can sometimes trip if there is a power surge or overheating somewhere. Check if the breaker has tripped and if has, reset it to restore power to the heating coils.
- Solution: Retting a breaker that has tripped should solve the problem.
3. Burnt Out Coils
The coils are the ones that produce heat by a technique known as heat resistance. These coils work all the time heating the air that passes through your electric furnace. So, these coils can wear out over the years of use. When they wear or burnt out, the furnace blower fan will continue blowing nothing but cold air.
Solution: If you notice that one or more of your oils are damaged, consider replacing them. This is an easy fix that you can try to put your hands on before calling in an HVAC professional. But remember, when you are dealing with electrical parts, be sure to switch off your furnace first. If you are unsure of anything, always call professional services for help.
4. Furnace Not Blowing Air: Leaks in the Ductwork.
Air ducts carry hot air from your furnace into your home for distribution. However, air ducts can have leaks or disconnections on them. When there’re leaks on the duct work, the hot air coming from furnace can escape from the ducts before making it into your home.
Solution: If your air ducts have leaves on them, you can seal them off with a tape or new people. This is no hard to do. But if you think you can’t do it, you can a technician to come and give a hand.
5. Electric Furnace Not Blowing Hot Air: Dirty Air Filters
Air filters remove dust and other substances from air before it is drawn into the furnace. These air filters are continuously working if the furnace is on so they can quickly become dirty and clogged.
If you are using a gas furnace and you do not replace them, these air filters will restrict the flow of air into the heat exchanger. Restricted air flow will often lead to overheating within your furnace. When there is overheating, the heating systems’ safety measure will kick into action and shut off the system, preventing other components of your furnace from damage.
Solution: If your air filters are dirty, you need to replace them, some furnaces have their air filters installed behind the return vents. Replacing air filters should allow free flow of air into your furnace while also preventing dirty air bypassing them. Manufacturers recommend replacing air filters at least once every 3 months.
Conclusion
It can be really frustrating when you have an electric furnace not blowing hot air when you have nearly freezing temperatures outside. In order t fixe this problem, try the tips we have given in this guide before calling in HVAC technician. You’ll be surprised by how quickly the problem will be solved.
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HVAC tech with over 30 years of experience. Retired and doing repair work on the side around Madison County, AL.