When your furnace is blowing cold air during a heating cycle, there’s no need to panic. You may be able to troubleshoot and fix the problem yourself, and quite possibly, there may not be a problem at all. Before calling in a professional, here are several things you can try, to determine if there’s a genuine problem.
Sometimes a furnace will blow cold air, and it’s a perfectly normal function. This is especially true when the heating cycle begins and the furnace is purging all of the cold air through the ducts. Waiting a few minutes is the key here, because 
as the air flowing through the ductwork heats up, the initial air coming through the room vents will blow cold, but will warm up as the furnace runs. The farther the room vents are from the furnace, the longer the air running through them will take to feel warm.
If your fan is set to the “on” position instead of the “auto” position, you’ll have the furnace blowing cold air as long as it’s not in a heating cycle. The blower is working but not the combustion components. Some households use the “on” position to ventilate the home and filter the air, even when heating isn’t needed.
A furnace blowing cold air also may have a pilot light that’s gone out, though if you have a newer furnace with electronic ignition, there’s no pilot light to worry about. You can check the pilot light easily enough, and if it’s not burning, you can relight it. The instructions often are printed right on the furnace. With a newer electronic ignition model, make sure the power is on to the furnace, both at the furnace switch and the circuit breaker.
If you have checked all of these concerns and the furnace is still blowing cold air, call in a professional to determine the problem and get your furnace up and circulating warm air again.
When you need expert advice and service for all of your HVAC needs, please contact us at Geisel Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing. We’ve been serving the Greater Cleveland area for nearly 80 years.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about furnace troubleshooting tips and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
For those Do it Yourselfers who would rather take control of your own indoor comfort, you can shop our online store for replacement parts, products and accessories!
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