I was checking my thermostat history and noticed my furnace seems to be running in shorter cycles than I remember. It turns on and off frequently, which doesn’t seem normal to me. Has anyone else experienced this?
What kind of heating system do you have? Natural gas, electric, oil, heat pump?
Ralph said:
What kind of heating system do you have? Natural gas, electric, oil, heat pump?
Natural gas.
I had something similar happen and it turned out to be a faulty actuator. It was sticking and causing the system to turn on and off too often. Once I figured out which actuator was the problem, replacing it fixed everything.
@jordansmith
That’s interesting, I actually have a spare actuator. I’ll swap it out today and see if that makes a difference. Thanks.
Have you changed your air filter recently? If you switched to a higher MERV-rated filter, it could be restricting airflow. Some systems aren’t designed to handle that and can overheat, causing short cycling.
@richardblack
I did change it recently, and I bought filters from Amazon. I’ll check if that could be the issue. Thanks.
It looks like your thermostat is turning the heat on and then shutting it off quickly. Do you have a vent blowing warm air near the thermostat? If it’s getting hit with heat, it could be tricking it into shutting off too soon.
@Manuel
No vents near the thermostat. I’m thinking of getting a cheap thermostat to see if the Nest could be the issue.
Where is your thermostat located? If it’s too close to a heat source, like a vent or even a warm wall, it might be sensing heat too quickly and shutting off before the rest of the house actually warms up.
@Drake
It’s in a split-level home, placed on the wall going up a set of stairs. No direct heat sources near it. I’d think heat from the lower level would rise above the thermostat rather than affecting it.
What’s the outside temperature where you are? If it’s really cold, your system may be working harder than usual, which could explain the frequent cycling.
Ravine said:
What’s the outside temperature where you are? If it’s really cold, your system may be working harder than usual, which could explain the frequent cycling.
It’s been around 20°-34°F this past week.
How long are the run times? Also, do you have a furnace, boiler, or heat pump?
Just to add some context—I had been running the fan once an hour for 15 minutes, but I turned that off on the evening of the 12th to see if it made a difference.