Although gas heating systems are typically reliable, they do sometimes break down and require heating repair. Here are a few ways in which your home gas heating system can break down, along with tips for what to do about it.

1. Gas Leak

The worst way in which your gas heating system can break down is that it can develop a gas leak. This form of breakdown is very dangerous because natural gas is highly flammable. Thankfully, heating gas is easy to detect without any specialist equipment — all you need is your nose.

Gas has a smell that is very similar to eggs that have gone bad. If you smell this unpleasant aroma, you should open a window to clear out the gas, turn off your heating system, and contact a gas safety engineer right away. Avoid using a lighter, smoking, or cooking while you are waiting for repair.

2. Incomplete Combustion

Gas furnaces are designed to burn natural gas in the presence of oxygen to produce energy, water vapour and carbon dioxide. Sometimes, furnaces malfunction and end up burning gas with an insufficient supply of oxygen, which results in the production of carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that is odourless, tasteless and invisible. The only way you can know if your furnace is producing carbon monoxide is to use a carbon monoxide detector, which all gas heating system users should have in their home.

If you find out that your furnace is producing carbon monoxide, turn it off. Call a heating repair service and explain the problem. They will send someone out soon to repair your furnace. In the meantime, ensure good ventilation in your home by opening windows and turning on fans. These steps can help to reduce your risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

3. Inefficient Heating

Sometimes, gas heating systems malfunction in ways that are not dangerous but which cause your home heating bills to creep up. A gas furnace that has not been serviced in many years can become very inefficient, which means that it has to burn a larger amount of gas to produce a certain amount of heat. If you notice that your heating bills are higher than you expect for the time of year, contact a heating repair service to schedule a maintenance checkup for your gas heating system.

Even if you notice no problems with your gas heating system, it is still a good idea to have it serviced regularly.