How Long Should It Take My Furnace to Heat My House?

Introduction

All of us hate the chills that winter brings with it. It also gets quite challenging to move around the house when it’s so cold!

A furnace can be the savior here. Yet, many people are confused about the duration the furnace takes to heat the house.

So, you may be wondering, how long should my furnace take to heat my house?

The minimum time the furnace should take to start heating up your house is 5 minutes. From there, the heat gets more intense and reaches the corners of the house in 10-15 minutes. A few factors affect the heating time of the furnace. Additionally, you can take some steps to fasten the process of heating!

The summed-up information only resembles a tiny portion of the article. By reading the whole article, you can get a clearer idea!

How Long Does It Take for a Furnace to Get a House Heated?

Well, the furnace should start heating up the house 5 minutes after touching the thermostat. 

Usually, if there’s no conflicting factor, it should take 10-15 minutes to heat the entire house. Taking more time than that is unusual. 

Furnaces are designed to heat up your house as quickly as they can! You should not wait in the cold; for it to get heated!

However, if your furnace takes too long to heat up the house; there might be some internal issues with your furnace. I’ve discussed this matter in the next segment. 

Why Is My Furnace Taking So Long to Heat up?

By now, you should know how long should it take to heat your house using furnaces. Now, a situation may arise where the furnace takes longer than the allocated time. Or worse, it doesn’t heat up the house at all.

There could be multiple reasons behind the furnace not kicking on when the temp drops. I have mentioned some of the common reasons for this issue below. Have a look!

Reason 1: Bad Thermostat

This is a common reason for observing the furnace taking too much time to heat. The entire HVAC system of a building can fail because of a bad thermostat! 

The thermostat helps to control the HVAC system. If you change thermostat settings and it doesn’t apply, the thermostat may have gone bad.

You don’t have to worry too much though. I’ve included the solutions for bad thermostats below. Check it out.

Solution

First things first, you have to troubleshoot your thermostat. You’ll know the problems after troubleshooting this equipment. 

If the problems are too grave, you can replace the thermostat. The replacement thermostat should be of good quality to futureproof the furnace.

Getting low-quality thermostats would call for more trouble than help. So, always try to work best to stick to the ones you’ve seen first-hand. 

Regarding thermostats, I have some go-to ones that never disappoint. For your convenience, I’ve listed some well-built thermostats here-

By using these thermostats, you can accurately alter the temperature. They’re also known for their longevity!

Reason 2: Clogged filters

If you’ve got clogged air filters, you’ll observe the furnace taking a long time to heat the house. The furnace air filters pick up a lot of particles such as dust, hair, lint, etc. These filters have to be changed regularly to ensure proper heating of the furnace. 

Clogged air filters are really dangerous also! They do not let the heat get out of the room. As a result, heat builds up inside the furnace. 

Source: cleanalert.com

Pressure is built up along with it. The combo of heat and pressure can be fatal and cause extremely serious accidents. 

But hey, you don’t have to stress. You can easily avoid these hazards because I’ve got you covered! Here is the solution for clogged filters.

Solution

The solution to this is very straightforward. Changing the furnace air filters will be enough. 

You can try cleaning the filters. However, if the clog doesn’t clear even after cleaning, it’s time to invest in new air filters! You can easily replace them at home.

Try to get filters with your required MERV rating. Failing to do so will cause a variety of problems within your furnace. To make the process of getting air filters easier for you, I’ve listed some air filters with their respective MERV rating: 

If you’re working on the furnace yourself, remember to take precautions. Wear rubber gloves and boots to prevent electricity-related accidents. 

Also, make sure your furnace is grounded. If it’s not, ground the furnace as soon as possible!

So, there are some reasons and solutions if you notice your furnace taking a long time to heat the house.

Is There Any Way to Fasten The Heating of The Furnace?

While it’s a very informal approach, there are several ways to fasten furnace heating. Have a look-

• Shutting the doors and windows 30 minutes before activating the furnace. This can lessen the cold air inside your house, speeding up the heating process.

• Gather people in one room. If possible, gather your family member and friend in one room. The CO2 from multiple people will help the heat spread quickly!

• Light up fireplaces and turn on heaters. Doing these tasks will add more heat to the room. Accordingly, a furnace will require less time to heat a house!

• Get a big blower motor for your furnace. Although, it has to be compatible with your furnace. You can follow a blower motor guide for furnaces to make the right decision!

These are some ways you can heat up your house more quickly. Note that these methods aren’t any substitutes for a furnace. It will only aid the furnace in heating and emergencies. 

Follow them when you need to know how to heat your house when your furnace breaks. You can consider these methods as temporary solutions in this case.

What Affects The Heating Time of Furnaces?

First, let’s be clear about one thing. A couple of factors affect the time it takes for a furnace to heat up houses. Have a look-

Factor 1: Temperature of Thermostat

Every furnace has its operating limits. Let’s say your furnace has a 30 degrees Celcius limit. Now, if you set the thermostat to 29 degrees Celcius, it’ll take the most time. 

You can get to the furnace’s temperature operating boundaries. But, the longer your furnace will have to burn to keep your home at that temperature.

Factor 2: Outside Temperature

The temperature outside of your effects the furnace heating time. Your home’s insulation helps retain the home temperature and lessen heat losses. 

However, the colder it is outside, the more time the furnace will take to heat up. Along with the house, the furnace also gets cold. So it has to return to room temperature to start working.

Factor 3: House Size

This is a very logical factor to be considered. The size of the house determines how long does it take a house to heat up. 

The bigger your house, the more time it’ll take to heat up. Expensive and robust furnaces can eliminate this factor, though! 

Along with all of these aspects, try to maintain your furnace properly, as the condition of your furnace directly controls the time taken to heat up a room. Here are some tips that you can follow-

Hope this helps!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Final Words

You’ve reached the finish line of this article. Hopefully, I’ve answered the question, how long should it take my furnace to heat my house?

Taking care of the furnace is essential. By taking care of the furnace, the heating process will be quicker and it’ll last longer.

All the best!

Tim David

HVAC tech with over 30 years of experience. Retired and doing repair work on the side around Madison County, AL.