Having your furnace go out just when you need it the most is cause for serious concern. If your furnace suddenly experiences a loss of power, you will have some investigating to do. Here are some considerations to keep in mind as you begin to troubleshoot the problem.

Make Sure Power Is Actually Running to It

First things first, make sure your heating furnace is actually receiving a source of power. It's not uncommon for a bad circuit breaker or a faulty fuse to cause an issue that prevents the furnace from receiving the power that it needs to run. "Make sure it's plugged in" is somewhat eye-rolling trouble-shooting advice, but in the case of your furnace, there are a number of things that could cause the power to drop out, so make sure everything is properly connected before moving forward.

If You Do Have Power, Turn It Off Before Going Inside the Furnace

Assuming there is actually a power current, your next step is to figure out why the furnace itself is not accepting it properly. But before you open up the furnace and peek inside, you should make sure that the power is turned off. That might seem counterintuitive, but you don't want to touch anything inside a furnace while power is flowing to it. If you manage to fix the problem, you could end up getting shocked at the moment that the power starts flowing all the way through the system again. So, turn the power off, troubleshoot a thing or two, and then turn the power back on to see if it worked. Repeat this process for additional troubleshooting steps.

Check the Power Switch, Thermostat, and Reset Button

If you are going to continue troubleshooting individual parts of your furnace, the power switch, thermostat, and reset controls are obvious places to start and don't require a great deal of knowledge to see if something is wrong. If you are going to play around with the power switch or reset button, you should in general wait about 30 minutes before turning these areas on or off. This will give the motor inside the furnace time to cool and avoid overheating between resets.

If all the furnace is receiving power and key areas like the thermostat and power switch are working properly, but the furnace is still not operating as it should, it's time to get professional help. Contact a heating and furnace repair service today for more information.