Posted: September 9, 2024
Has it happened to you? You wake up in the night to reach for another blanket and you realize, it’s not just cold—the heat is off! What do you do?
If you’re a Main-Care customer, you know you can pick up the phone any time, day or night, and one of our employee-owners will have your back. It’s part of our 360° of Service commitment.
No matter when you call, our techs can get you up and running fast. But before you call, try these troubleshooting tips: There could be an easy solution you can handle yourself, avoiding the cost of a service call.
Check Your Thermostat
Make sure your thermostat is set to a temperature at least 5° above room temperature and set to “heat.” Is it the batteries? Try installing fresh ones.
Check the Emergency Switch
Did the switch for your heating system accidentally get turned off? This happens more often than you’d think. Don’t overthink it, just turn it on.
Check Your Fuel Supply
If you are on will-call for heating oil or propane deliveries, and it’s been colder than usual or you haven’t checked your tank gauge in a while, you may have run out of fuel. Consider signing up for our free and convenient automatic delivery service designed to prevent runouts.
Check Fuses and Circuit Breakers
Circuit breakers can easily trip. Check the breaker that your heating system is on, and turn it on if it’s off.
Check the Air Filter
When the air filter on your furnace gets clogged, the system will shut down. Replace it and keep a note on your calendar to check it at least once a month—especially if you have some furry family members.
Check the Boiler
If you have a hot water boiler, you can skip this step. If you have a steam boiler, check the water level gauge. It should be at least half full. Call us if it isn’t.
Reset the System
If you have an oil-burning system and none of the previous steps work, push and hold the Reset button for 30 seconds. Only do this ONCE. Doing it more than once floods the combustion chamber with too much heating oil. That’s an expensive repair job on top of any other repairs you may need.
If none of those steps resolves the problem, call us and we’ll send a technician to get you up and running as quickly as possible.
The best way to prevent a heating system breakdown is to keep up with regular maintenance. A thorough tune-up is designed to keep your system running at peak efficiency all winter. But it will also catch and correct many small problems before they become expensive repair job.
Main-Care Energy makes it easy, with Home Protection Plans that ensure that your systems receive annual maintenance, along with a range of other fantastic benefits.
No matter what you need, or when you need it, Main-Care is here for you. We’re your neighbors so we go out of our way to exceed your expectations. Contact us for more information today.
