Do You Have To Relight a Furnace After a Power Outage?
Contact Cool By Design Air Conditioning Experts if you need help relighting the pilot on your furnace post power loss. We’re here to help, so call today!
Florida is no stranger to severe weather powerful enough to temporarily knock out a community’s electricity. High power demands, human errors, and animals can cause your home to lose power as well.
Do you have to relight your furnace after a power outage? Cool By Design Air Conditioning Experts is a top provider of HVAC repair in Boca Raton, Florida. Restarting a furnace pilot light can be tricky if you lack experience. Thankfully, our crew knows the procedure for relighting furnaces after outages, which you can learn below.
Why Gas Furnaces Stop Working During a Power Outage
If your home loses electricity, you’ll have to reignite the furnace. This is true even for gas furnaces. Gas furnaces still use electricity for specific functionalities, so the system will shut down as a safety precaution if it loses power.
Furnace parts that rely on electricity include:
- Relays: Relay switches regulate gas flow and safety devices that control fuel usage.
- Blower Motor: The blower motor operates the fan responsible for blowing heated air from the furnace through the ductwork. It also pushes harmful gases from the combustion processes through the flue vent.
- Circuit Board: Your furnace’s circuit board sends electrical signals from the heating unit to the thermostat.
Steps To Relight Furnace After Power Interruption
Now that you know the answer to, “Do you have to relight a furnace after a power outage?” check your furnace after your home’s electricity resumes. If the system doesn’t immediately restart after your property regains power, use the following procedure for igniting a furnace pilot light following a power failure.
Look at the Control Panel
Your furnace will have a control panel that regulates the system’s functionality. Before following any procedure for relighting a furnace after an outage, you should check the control panel for flashing lights.
A flashing error light means your furnace has a problem beyond a lack of power. Even if you know about furnace relighting after power outages, the system won’t turn on without repairing or replacing the part that’s causing the error light to flash.
Determine the Reason for the Power Outage
Different power types of outages can affect your furnace differently. For instance, local construction could result in electricity loss if the community’s gas or power lines sustain damage. Lightning strikes could cause fuses inside your house to blow. Replacing a fuse is a simple fix in comparison to replacing your control panel.
Take Safety Precautions
Never attempt to relight your furnace if the power outage includes flooding. If water enters the furnace, it may need a professional replacement instead of a simple relighting. It’s best to contact qualified professionals for help.
Press the Reset Button
If it’s safe to do so, you can relight your furnace by pressing its reset button. Some units will require pressing the button for a short time, like 30 seconds.
You might want to press the button several times if you don’t see an immediate response from the furnace. However, you should only press reset once. Hitting it repeatedly will trigger the heating system’s safety lock, which makes restarting the furnace pilot light harder.
Check the Thermostat and Breaker Panel
Sometimes, a power outage can trigger the thermostat to shut down as well. Check your thermostat and ensure it’s on and set to heat. You might need to restart it and adjust the temperature high enough to trigger it to turn the furnace on.
An electrical outage could also trip your property’s circuit breakers. If the furnace’s breaker trips, the relighting procedure won’t work until the switch is back in the “on” position.
You’ll need to reach out to an experienced HVAC company if your efforts to restart your furnace fail. Your furnace could be experiencing other problems that a simple reset can’t fix.
Contact Boca Raton's HVAC Professionals To Restore Your Heating System
Do you have to relight a furnace after a power outage? The short answer is yes. Still, you’ll need expert assistance if restarting your furnace pilot light doesn’t work.
At Cool By Design Air Conditioning Experts, our crew has over 15 years of experience providing comprehensive HVAC services to Boca Raton, Florida residents, including furnace repair and maintenance. If your heating system fails following a power outage, we can inspect, diagnose, and remedy the situation with long-term solutions.
Schedule an appointment with Cool By Design Air Conditioning Experts at (954) 541-8277.
