Don’t hesitate to seek help from our Glastonbury HVAC experts if your furnace is overheating. Contact SM Mechanical Services LLC today!
Winter temperatures in Glastonbury often fall to or below freezing, so you’ll need a reliable heating system to stay warm indoors. Since a furnace emits heat, it’s not unusual for it to feel warm. However, if you’re asking, “Should my furnace be hot to touch?” while experiencing problems keeping your home warm, you could have a serious problem.
As one of the top reliable HVAC contractors in Glastonbury, CT, SM Mechanical Services LLC offers furnace repair and replacement throughout the area. Here’s what our HVAC experts say about overheated furnaces and their possible causes.
Why Overheating a Furnace Is Dangerous
If a furnace overheats for any reason, despite generating warmth, it will put undue stress on the system’s components, like the blower fan motor and heat exchanger. Both parts are crucial to heat production and disbursement. However, if they sustain damage, they can cause your system to break down and stop working prematurely.
Replacing a furnace heat exchanger is one of the most costly and labor-intensive furnace repairs you could need. Putting off the repair or replacement isn’t an option. Excessive heat can cause cracks to form in the welds and bends of the heat exchanger, increasing the risk of a carbon monoxide leak.
Carbon monoxide is a dangerous byproduct of the combustion process your furnace uses to generate heat. It’s an odorless, colorless gas that can cause severe illness or death.
If you’re asking, “Should the furnace be hot to touch?” it’s best to contact an HVAC professional for a heating unit inspection. They can ensure the furnace isn’t overheating enough to damage essential components and take appropriate action if it is.
Warning Signs of an Overheated Furnace
Determining if your furnace is overheating only by touch can be difficult. Some heating units function at temperatures between 110 and 140 degrees, while others can reach as high as 170 degrees. Still, you can tell if your system has an overheating problem if you notice these signs along with a too-hot-to-touch-furnace:
- Burning Smell From Vents: It is normal to smell slightly burnt when you turn on your furnace for the first time after the summer ends. That means the furnace is burning off settled dust. However, the smell shouldn’t linger or happen every time your furnace turns on.
- Short Cycling When the Furnace Runs: If your heating system runs too frequently but doesn’t complete its cycles, it’s short cycling. This problem prevents the furnace from meeting your temperature demands, causing it to overwork and overheat itself.
- Unusual Noises From the Furnace: A loud hum or other strange noises could mean that the motor is on but not working correctly. When this happens, the motor will produce excessive heat as it tries to run properly, which can produce more noise.
- Vents Feel Hot: Your furnace might feel warm to the touch, but your vents should not. Hot vents indicate improper venting. With no place for the heat to go, the furnace’s warmth will linger around the unit and vents and cause overheating.
Possible Reasons Your Furnace Feels Too Hot to Touch
Your furnace could be overheating and displaying other signs of trouble for several reasons. Most problems are avoidable through routine maintenance.
Age
The age of a heating system plays a major role in its performance. As the unit ages, its mechanical components and other parts will wear down. Their inefficiency and reduced performance forces the furnace to overwork, which leads to overheating.
Modern furnaces have safety features to prevent overheating, premature wear, and gas leaks. Yet, older models might not have these features. As a result, it’s easier for them to overheat.
If your furnace is over 15 years old, it’s time to replace it with an updated energy-efficient model. It’s too close to the end of its lifespan to be safe and efficient.
Dirt Buildup on the Air Filter
It’s easy to overlook a simple HVAC maintenance step like replacing the air filter. However, air can’t easily pass through a dirty filter, resulting in restricted airflow to the furnace.
Sufficient airflow is essential for a fully functional heating unit. When you forget to replace a clogged air filter, the furnace will work harder to reach and maintain the temperature on your thermostat. At a minimum, you should replace your furnace filter once every 90 days.
Mechanical Failure
Your heating system relies on mechanical and electrical parts to work together to generate heat. When one component fails, the others must compensate for the reduced performance. Overcompensation puts excess stress on the system, which could lead to insufficient circulation, short-circuiting, and overheating.
Restricted Airflow
Restricted airflow isn’t only a problem with the furnace filter. Over time, your vents and registers will collect dust, dirt, hair, and other debris. You could also unintentionally block your vents with furniture or close them off.
Any blockages to your vents, whether from debris or a wrongfully placed bookcase, can restrict airflow to the furnace. Always keep your vents open, clear, and clean to ensure your furnace doesn’t work too hard and prematurely reduce its performance.
Short Cycling
Short cycling is a symptom and a cause of HVAC overheating. The constant on-and-off for the system stresses the unit’s motors. Overheating, faulty thermostats, and oversized furnaces cause this problem.
Stay Warm This Winter with Professional Heating Repair
Your heating unit’s main responsibility is to generate and disperse heat, but should the furnace be hot to touch? An overheating furnace is usually a sign that something is wrong. Without prompt furnace repairs, your system could experience a system failure, jeopardizing your comfort and safety.
We at SM Mechanical Services LLC are one of Glastonbury, Connecticut’s top choices for HVAC services. Our highly trained and skilled technicians can service every aspect of a heating system, from the mechanical components on the furnace board to the system’s vents and registers.
We can handle any job of any size—call (860) 530-2671 to schedule an appointment with SM Mechanical Services LLC today.