Why Does My Furnace Smell Strange?

The heat of summer may be stubbornly sticking around into September this year, but we Vermonters know that the time is coming when temperatures will plummet. When they do, your heating system needs to operate flawlessly in order to heat your home effectively and reliably. Unfortunately, many homeowners do not realize that there is a problem of any kind with their home heating systems until they really need them.

One issue that you may notice with your furnace is a strange odor when you fire it up for the year. There are a few potential causes of this problem. Read on, and let us know if you suspect the need for any furnace services in Ludlow, VT.

While you may immediately assume the worst when you turn on your furnace and smell a strange odor, one of the most common causes of the issue is actually quite harmless. We’re talking about dust. We have long heating seasons in the northeast, but there is still plenty of downtime in which your furnace may collect dust in its combustion chamber, on the burners, or on its electric heating elements. When that happens, you may smell dust burning off of these components when first starting your heater up for the year.

Another, more serious issue, is a clogged oil filter. If you use an oil furnace in your home, the oil fueling it requires filtration: hence the presence of the oil filter. If this filter clogs up, you may smell an oily odor when you start your furnace. Simply changing the oil filter should resolve the problem. Let us know if you are unsure of how to do this. You don’t want to make any uneducated guesses when it comes to heating your home.

Any burning odors when you start your furnace must be addressed immediately. This could be the result of a furnace motor overheating, or even a cracked heat exchanger. Alternatively, a foreign object may have found its way into the ductwork (and if you have children, this is all the more likely!). We can get to the bottom of the situation in order to resolve the problem entirely.

 Call HB Energy Solutions for all your energy needs. HB Energy Solutions delivers peace of mind.

 

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