Home heating repair can involve both fixing your equipment and maintaining. Heating and cooling is a big industry and you no doubt have numerous companies in your area that perform this type of service.

As a rule, not many homeowners attempt to work on heating and cooling systems. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that repairs are often needed immediately. If you furnace quits in the middle of winter, you often don't have time to figure out the problem on your own.

The other main problem is that parts are not readily available. Most local heating and cooling suppliers will not sell parts to individuals. This helps to protect the service industry that works on heating and cooling system.

There is also the safety issue. Heating and cooling repairmen are trained to work on furnaces and cooling systems. Some of the operations, such as charging a cooling system require special licenses. Since furnaces and cooling condensers use combustible fuels and/or substantial amounts of electricity, they are considered dangerous to work on.

With that said, there are some things a homeowner can do. Troubleshooting the problem first will save you having a serviceman come out when it is a simple problem. Some maintenance operations are not dangerous and the supplies can be obtained.

Home Heating Repair - Finding Help

Below you will find some common problems. There is a brief description and a link that will lead you to additional information. Our evaluation sections of the pages will help you to decide if you want to make the repair. The "What Can You Save?" and "How Hard Could It Be?"sections give you a quick overview of the repair. This will help you decide if it is in your best interest to make the repair yourself.

The "Check the Simple Things First" section will clue you in to easy fixes to check for. Many times quick fix will eliminate a problem without the aggravation of an involved repair. In an effort to warn you about what you are in for, there is the "What Can Go Wrong" section. Forewarned is forearmed as they say. Knowing what to watch out for is always helpful.

Home Heating Repair Topics

Replacing Furnace Filters

This is a common maintenance task that a homeowner can perform. Most types of filters should be replaced at the beginning of each new season. Some types of filters can be cleaned out and put back in.

Types of Furnace Filters

There are are several types of furnace filters. The size and type of particles that are captured can be important. This is especially true if someone in the home has allergies.

There are ratings for furnace filters that help you to determine what filter to get. Understanding the rating system can be a little confusing. How to understand them is covered in this series of articles.