What counts as a heating emergency?
Not every heating problem has to be fixed tonight. One room that stays a little cool can usually wait for a regular appointment. These situations can't wait:
- No heat in freezing weather. A house cools down fast, and pipes in outside walls, crawl spaces and garages can freeze and burst.
- Vulnerable people in a cold home. Babies, older adults and anyone who is sick or has a heart or lung condition are at higher risk in a cold house.
- A gas smell. Natural gas and propane carry an added odor like rotten eggs or sulfur. Treat it as an emergency every time, even if it's faint.
- A carbon monoxide (CO) alarm. CO has no smell and no color. An alarm, or several people with headaches, dizziness or nausea at once, means everyone gets out.
- Water leaking from the furnace or boiler. A high-efficiency furnace can leak from a clogged or frozen condensate line. A boiler can leak from a fitting, the circulator pump or the pressure relief valve. Water near electrical parts is a hazard.
- Smoke, a burning smell or a breaker that keeps tripping. Turn the system off and get it checked. A dusty smell on the first run of the season is normal. A smell that doesn't fade is not.
What to do in the first 10 minutes
A short routine keeps you safe and often shows you what's wrong.
- Check for danger. Gas smell, CO alarm, smoke or water near the unit? Handle that first, as described above.
- Check the thermostat. It should be set to HEAT and a few degrees above room temperature. A blank screen often just means dead batteries.
- Check the breaker. If the breaker for the furnace, boiler or air handler has tripped, switch it fully off and back on, one time. If it trips again, leave it off and call.
- Check the service switch. It looks like a light switch on or near the unit, and it's easy to flip off by mistake.
- Check the furnace door. A safety switch keeps the furnace off if the blower door isn't fully seated. Don't remove any other panels.
- Check the filter and outside vents. A clogged filter can make the furnace overheat and shut its burners off. On high-efficiency furnaces, snow or ice over the white plastic vent pipes outside can keep it from starting.
- Note what you see. Count the blinks of the status light through the small window on the furnace door. Then call.
The no-heat checklist covers each of these checks in more detail, including heat pumps and boilers.
How to keep your home and pipes safe while you wait
Once you've called, hold on to the heat you have and protect your plumbing.
Hold the heat in
- Close curtains and blinds, especially after dark. During the day, open the ones that get direct sun.
- Close the doors to rooms you aren't using and gather everyone in one room.
- Block drafts under outside doors with a rolled towel, and dress in layers.
Use space heaters safely
- Keep at least 3 feet of clear space around it: no bedding, curtains or furniture.
- Plug it straight into a wall outlet, never into an extension cord or power strip.
- Use one with tip-over and overheat shutoff, set on a hard, level floor.
- Never leave it running unattended or while you sleep.
Protect the pipes
- Let faucets on outside walls drip, both hot and cold. Moving water is less likely to freeze.
- Open the cabinet doors under kitchen and bathroom sinks so warmer room air reaches the pipes.
- Keep the garage door closed if water lines run through the garage.
- Find your main water shutoff now, in case a pipe bursts.
If a faucet slows to a trickle, a pipe may already be frozen. Leave that faucet open, call a plumber and never thaw a pipe with an open flame.
What to tell the pro on the phone
Have this ready when you call. It helps the pro judge how urgent the problem is:
- Your ZIP code, so the call reaches a company that serves your area.
- Your system type: gas, propane or oil furnace, heat pump, boiler or electric furnace.
- What it's doing: completely silent, blowing cold air, clicking, or starting and stopping.
- The error code: the number of blinks and what the code chart on the door says.
- What you already checked, plus any safety issue like a gas smell, a CO alarm or water on the floor.
- Who is home, especially babies, older adults or anyone with a medical condition.
- The make and model from the label on the unit. A phone photo of the label helps.
The pro you speak with diagnoses the problem and agrees pricing and scheduling directly with you. Nothing gets booked unless you say so. Ask how after-hours visits are scheduled and charged before you agree to one. For more on your system, see furnace repair, heat pump repair or boiler repair.
After-hours heating repair: what to expect
Heating systems tend to fail on the coldest nights, when local heating companies are busiest.
Calls to HVAC Rescue Pros are answered 7 days a week, but the availability of local pros varies by area, time of day and demand. Many independent HVAC companies run evening and weekend schedules or keep a technician on call. Same-day visits are often possible, but no one can promise one, especially during a cold snap.
If the first open slot is hours away, use the steps above to keep the house and pipes safe. If someone at risk can't stay warm, consider staying with family or friends, or at a local warming center, until the heat is back. If anyone shows signs of a medical emergency, call 911.
