If you’ve noticed that your furnace is turning on and off every couple of minutes, that’s a sign of short cycling. Short cycling may seem like a minor issue, but it’s actually a huge threat to your system. If you want to preserve your furnace for as long as possible, you should call for repairs as soon as you recognize that your furnace is short cycling. Read on to find out how short cycling affects your system.
Short Cycling
Short cycling is caused by heat becoming trapped in the furnace, which makes it overheat. The limit switch activates, and shuts down the furnace to protect it. The problem is that the limit switch isn’t capable of addressing the source of the problem. The furnace will keep starting up, overheating, and shutting down indefinitely unless the source of the issue is dealt with.Effects of Short Cycling
The number and intensity of problems that your furnace runs into depends on the amount of wear and tear it accumulates. The more stress the system is put under, the more wear and tear it accumulates and the more damage is done to the system. Short cycling locks the furnace into the most stressful part of its cycle: the startup. Constantly moving through the startup cycle and being shut down subjects the furnace to an incredible amount of stress, which makes it all but inevitable that severe problems will occur. Prolonged short cycling will permanently shorten the life of the system, and at some point will lead to a full breakdown. This is why it’s so important to repair your furnace as soon as you notice it short cycling.If your furnace is short cycling, call Magnolia Plumbing, Heating & Cooling. We offer furnace repair services throughout Fairfax, VA.
