5 Furnace Warning Signs to Catch Before the Valley Fog Rolls In

Catch furnace problems before the cold snap

A fall tune-up is the cheapest insurance you can buy for winter comfort. Here are the signs your furnace is asking for attention before Sacramento's damp, foggy winter arrives.

• A yellow or flickering burner flame (a healthy flame burns blue)

• Rattling, banging, or whistling you haven't heard before

• Heating bills rising with no change in your habits

• Rooms heating unevenly from one end of the house to the other

• The system short-cycling on and off every few minutes

Which of these are safety issues?

The yellow flame is the one that can't wait — it signals incomplete combustion, an efficiency problem and a safety problem at once. Loud new mechanical noises are next on the urgency list. The rest are money leaks that become breakdowns if ignored through a fog week.

What should you do about them?

Notice any of these? Schedule a heating repair with our NATE-certified team — same-day availability, and never extra on weekends. Better yet, a maintenance plan catches these issues at your seasonal check-up before they become breakdowns; here's exactly what that visit includes, and here's the math on whether a plan pays for itself. Furnace past its 15th winter? Read the electrification comparison before buying another gas system.