There is nothing worse than adjusting your furnace's thermostat to wait for the satisfying hum that says, "HEAT" and then hear or feel - nothing! Or perhaps the air comes on and you raise your hand to the vent and feel....cold air.  Never fear!  Many furnace/heater issues that homeowners and residents run into have nothing to do with air conditioning installation issues and are easily fixed if you just know the correct trouble shooting tips.  Here are some things you can do that will get the heat back on!

Is Your Furnace/Heater Gas or Electric?
This information will be indicated on the manual provided for you during the air conditioning installation. Or you can check the main unit. If your unit is gas you'll see a pilot light/flame, language regarding BTUs (British Thermal Units), a gas line (usually a 3/4" pipe) with a gas shut off valve connected to the unit, (possibly in addition to any kind of electric cord) and/or there will be some kind of ventilation duct leading from the unit to the exterior of your home.  If your unit is electric, you will probably see language regarding kWh (Kilowatt hours), there won't be any gas piping or venting, and you will see the electric cord.

Before calling a HVAC technician, here are a few things you can check for both gas & electric units.  PLEASE NOTE: do not attempt any repair work unless you are 100% confident you know what you are doing and think SAFETY FIRST! When in doubt, call a professional air conditioning installation technician.

• Always check your air filter first. If it appears dirty or clogged, remove it and replace it.  This is something you should do seasonally to ensure optimal energy efficiency and air quality.
• Ensure that all of your vents in the house are completely open and clean/clear of debris.

• Make sure the thermostat is set to HEAT and that the temperature set (tempset) is at least a few degrees above the current room temperature. If this is the case, set the fan to "ON" rather than "AUTO" to make sure the fan works. You should hear the fan kick on right away.
• If your fan does come on in the HEAT, or AUTO, position but the initial air coming out feels cool to the touch, be patient.  Your unit may be frozen and using an initial blow-cycle of cool air to 'thaw the pipes' and then will cycle warm air again once things are thawed and can't be damaged by the hot air cycle, usually within a few minutes.
• If the fan does not come on, go to the main furnace/heater unit.  Even gas heaters can require electricity to start up so check your breaker panel and make sure that all  the switches relating to your Furnace/Heater unit, or heat pump, are in the "ON" position. It's worth manually switching them off and then back on just to make sure.  Often, this will do the trick. If not, check the wiring and see if there are any frayed or melted wires. PLEASE NOTE: if the wiring is compromised in any way, do NOT touch it unless you are trained in safe electrical repair. Call a trained technician immediately.
• Your motor could be overloaded.  Wait 30 minutes and then hit the "reset" button.

Further Troubleshooting a Gas Furnace/Heater

• Make sure unit has access to gas and that gas valve is opened all the way.
• Your unit may have a condensate pump to collect condensation that forms while it is running.  If the condensation pan is full of water, the unit might have an automatic shut off and this issue will need to be taken care of before the unit can run safely.
• Check the pilot light. If the pilot light is out, there are instructions for relighting it on your unit.  USE CAUTION.  If there are no safety instructions you should not attempt to relight the pilot.
• If the pilot light goes out immediately after lighting, the pilot light might be set too low or could be dirty and need to be cleaned. USE CAUTION: do not proceed if you have not been trained to safely work with gas pilot lights.

If none of these things work, call an air conditioning installation technician to look into the matter further. If you have never had to call a repair technician before, make sure that you contact a reliable air conditioning installation/repair company. Check that the company has long-term references, is current in their technician training/certification, and that they live and work in the communities they serve.  This simple fact checking beforehand can go a long way towards quality work and your customer service satisfaction.

And remember, if you are in California or Nevada and need help, feel free to call our air conditioner repair experts!