I suspected some problems with the furnace when I started it up in late September.
The weather cooled down much earlier than anyone expected.
One day we were enjoying sunshine, blue skies and afternoons in the fifties, and next morning the temperature fell below freezing and it started snowing. When I raised the thermostat setting, the furnace kicked in right in but it made some strange noises. The smell of burnt lint and a great deal of dust poured out of the vents. I hoped that these concerns were caused by sitting idle and that it would work out the problems. I should have called a local HVAC contractor to inspect and provide service for the furnace. I was so preoccupied with preparing the house for winter, that I completely forgot. I needed to get all of the patio furniture and barbecue grill put away. I had to winterize the swimming pool pump and the lawn mower. I dug out our winter coats, boots, the snow shovels and scrapers. I also turned up the thermostat several times because the house felt a bit chilly. The furnace wasn’t putting out as much warm air as usual. Despite running nearly non stop, it couldn’t keep up with demands. It eventually quit completely toward the end of January. I woke up shivering in the middle of the night. I tried replacing the batteries in the thermostat, cleaning the furnace filters and pushing the reset button but couldn’t get it to start up. I had no choice but to pay the extra fees for overtime repairs. When the HVAC contractor checked out the furnace, he told me that the malfunction could have been prevented with maintenance in the fall. He said that a buildup of dust in the inner workings had restricted airflow and led to the system overheating.