Heater Repair Near Rockville, MD

What Are The Signs I Need Furnace Repair?

Not sure if you need to get your heater fixed? We don’t blame you. Unless it has stopped working entirely, it can be hard to know for sure. Here are some signs that your furnace is broken and that it could use some TLC from an HVAC professional:

Your furnace struggles to turn on.
Your furnace won’t turn off.
Your furnace turns off and on rapidly but doesn’t heat your home.
You hear unusual noises coming from your furnace whenever you’re running it.
Your furnace isn’t blowing hot air.
You are too cold at home even when the furnace seems to be working just fine.
You have some rooms that are cold and some that are warm.

Give us a call as soon as you notice any of these furnace issues. If we can catch the problem early, it may not require as extensive a furnace repair. This saves you money and helps you avoid unnecessary wear and tear on your heater.

Why Is It Best To Trust Certified HVAC Professionals For Furnace Repair In Rockville, MD?

Safety

Any appliance in your home that burns combustible gases, generates exhaust or is powered by high-voltage electricity is potentially dangerous. In the case of gas furnaces, you aren’t just putting yourself at risk – you could also cause gas leaks in your home that endanger your entire household. Properly licensed and trained HVAC professionals who work with these systems day in and day out know how to identify potential hazards, including those that might not be obvious to the untrained eye.

Protecting Your Investment

Accurately diagnosing and fixing the problem plaguing your furnace is vital for any successful furnace repair job. A quick online tutorial isn’t a substitute for years or decades of training and on-the-job experience. Even the handiest DIYers run the risk of seriously damaging their furnace if they don’t have training or experience working on furnaces.

Performance and Efficiency

Not every mistake will result in complete system failure, but there are scenarios in which you could accidentally hamstring your furnace’s efficiency, resulting in higher energy costs. Trained HVAC technicians who regularly maintain and optimize furnaces for a living know how to perform the necessary cleaning and minor adjustments to extend the life of your furnace while improving its efficiency.

Preserving Your Warranty

Many modern furnace manufacturers offer exceptional warranties with an important caveat – you need to schedule professional maintenance from certified maintenance professionals to keep it active. In addition to causing potential problems, attempting DIY repairs or maintenance on your furnace will likely void the warranty.

Your Time Is Valuable

Honestly ask yourself how much your time is worth before you attempt a DIY furnace repair job. For many homeowners the time they will spend attempting (and most likely failing) to fix or properly maintain their furnace will be worth far more than the cost of hiring a professional to do it quickly, efficiently and correctly the first time around.

Regulation and Code Compliance

Failing to adhere to relevant HVAC codes and regulations could potentially result in fines and will likely make it harder to sell your home in the future.

How do I know if my furnace needs repair?

Most people are not HVAC technicians, and even the savviest DIYers can’t easily and reliably fix furnace problems when they arise. This doesn’t mean every homeowner is unfamiliar with the proper working order of their HVAC system. No one is more familiar with how your furnace sounds or the way the air feels in your home than you – meaning you’re the best barometer for furnace problems. If you suspect something is wrong with the furnace in your Rockville home, chances are good something is off. Watch out for:

Unusual noises that don’t sound normal
Sudden increases in your gas or electric bills
Changes in heating performance
Altered furnace flame color (like being yellow instead of blue)
Sudden soot production in your furnace

The best thing to do in these scenarios is call Vito Services for a fast furnace assessment and repair services.

How often do furnaces need to be serviced and repaired?

Scheduling furnace service at least once a year before heating season begins is ideal. Members of our Vito VIP Club get annual service for their furnace plus a 15 percent discount on any service, no emergency fees and 24/7 priority service.

A properly maintained furnace should go many years without experiencing any kind of breakdown. Unfortunately, even properly maintained furnaces won’t last forever. At about 15 years a furnace with no defective components or installation problems may start to naturally begin experiencing breakdowns or problems at a higher frequency.

Whether you choose to pay for repairs or invest in replacement is a personal decision, but many of our customers base their decision on the cost of the repair compared to replacement and the likelihood of another expensive repair in the near future. Even if this breakdown wasn’t overly expensive to repair, it may make sense to invest in a new furnace for the enhanced efficiency, reliability and warranty protection.

How long do most furnace repairs take?

This really depends on the specific issue your HVAC system is experiencing. A faulty or broken thermostat repair or replacement may only take an hour or two, while replacing a heat exchanger may take several hours or even necessitate a follow-up visit the next day if the furnace is older and the parts aren’t on hand. Once your Vito Services technician has ascertained the problem, they can explain how long the job normally takes and any factors that might result in the job being delayed.

How much does it usually cost to repair a furnace?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question due to the variability of part and labor costs. Common issues like the replacement of a faulty ignition or thermostat usually doesn’t cost more than a few hundred dollars, while replacing a heat exchanger may cost between $2,000 and $3,000 (or potentially more).

Heat exchangers are an example of a component that usually only goes out near the end of a properly maintained furnace’s useful working life, which is why many people choose to replace the furnace rather than slightly extend HVAC longevity by replacing expensive components piecemeal as they break.

When is it better to forgo furnace repair and simply replace it?

If your furnace is 10 or more years old and the repair is going to cost you several thousand dollars or more, it’s likely in your best interest to consider replacement. Some people follow the 50 percent rule; or choose replacement if the cost of the repair is 50 percent or more the cost of a total furnace replacement.

A properly maintained furnace should last for 15 or 20 years, but once it’s half-way or two-thirds of the way into its projected life expectancy, replacement may become the better option from a long-term cost and performance perspective.

If a 10-year-old furnace isn’t working because of a thermostat malfunction, having the thermostat repaired or replaced is likely the better option. It may make less sense if the blower, fan motor or heat exchanger requires replacement.