No Heat? Do These Troubleshoots

Written on: January 24, 2022

You might not need a service call!

heating emergency maineNot having heat in your home can be a real problem. Your home can become uncomfortably cold. Pipes could freeze and burst.

Fortunately, AFC is here for you with no-heat emergency service.

NOTE: When you have a no-heat emergency, please do not email us or contact us online. Call us any time of day or night. We provide 24/7 emergency service to our AFC customers.

Steps to take when you have no heat

Follow these troubleshoots below before you get in touch with us. You may be able to solve the problem on your own and not need a service call!

Check your thermostat

Make sure your thermostat is set to a temperature at least 5° above the current room temperature and that it is set to “heat.” Install new batteries to see if they are the problem. If these don’t get your furnace or boiler working, move on to the next step.

Check your heating system switch

The heating system switch should be in the “ON” position. If it isn’t, turn it on and see what happens. Do the next troubleshoot if the system doesn’t return to normal when you flip the switch to “ON.”

Check your fuel supply

You may have run out of propane or heating oil if you haven’t checked your propane or heating oil tank gauge in a while. Don’t be concerned, we offer 24/7 emergency delivery to anybody in our service area, not just AFC customers. If your tank gauge reads below 25%, contact us for delivery. You can avoid fuel runouts by subscribing to our Automatic Delivery program for heating oil or propane.

Check the circuit breaker

Circuit breakers can easily trip. If the heating system breaker was tripped, turn the switch back on. If the breaker did not trip, go to the next step.

Check the air filter

If your furnace is not functioning, it’s possible that the air filter has become clogged, causing the furnace to shut down. Replace it if required (but keep a note on your calendar to check it once a month). If your filter is in good working order, go on to the next troubleshoot.

Check the boiler

If you have a steam boiler, check the water level in the gauge glass. It should be half-full at the very least. If it isn’t, contact us immediately. If it is, go to the final troubleshooting step. This does not apply to a hot water boiler; therefore, go to the last step.

Push and hold the reset button for 30 seconds

Only do this ONCE. If you do it more than once, too much heating oil will get pumped into the combustion chamber, causing it to flood. That will lead to an expensive repair job on top of any other repairs you may need.  

When you need responsive, reliable HVAC and comfort equipment service, AFC is here for you! Get in touch with us for all your installation, maintenance, and repair needs.