When the temperatures drop outside, it is essential to have a heating system that works effectively. As a college student living in an on your own for the first time, the last thing you want to deal with is a broken heater. If your heater does not turn on or is not blowing out hot air, here are the first three things you should check before you call your local heater repair technician, such as Scott's Heating & Air Conditioning Services.

Make Sure The Thermostat Is Set Correctly

The first thing you should do is go check out your thermostat. If your thermostat is responsible for both cooling and heating your house, you may have simply forgot to turn it to the heat setting. This can be really easy to do, especially during the fall when you still get some warm days mixed in with cooler days.

If your thermostat is set to cool, that is the most likely culprit behind the lack of warm air that you are feeling coming out of your vents. Once you change your thermostat to the heat setting, set the temperature and give it at least an hour or so to kick in. When it does kick in, make sure the air that is blowing out of your vents is warm.

Check The Power Switch On Your Heating Unit

Next, go out to your heating unit and make sure that it is turned on. You may have turned it off at the start of summer in order to ensure that you didn't accidentally turn it on. Or, someone may have hit the off switch. If your heating system has an external on switch, make sure that it is turned on.

If it is off, give your system a couple of hours to turn back on and start producing hot air. If nothing happens even after you turn your system on, then you need to call your local heater repair technician.

Reset Your Heating Unit

Finally, if your heating unit is turned on, it may have just overloaded. This can happen when your heater is putting out too much energy or when it is just getting back into the swing of things after being out of commission for months. If you suspect that your heater overheated, all you need to do is press the reset button on your unit. The reset button should be well labeled and easy to spot. If you can't find it though, get out your owner's manual to figure out exactly where it is located.

After you hit the reset button, give your heating unit a couple of hours to kick back on and start pumping out warm air again.

If none of the three quick troubleshooting methods described above work, then you should put in a call to your local heating repair technician. Be prepared to tell them what you have done to your unit, as well as anything you heard or saw when you tried to start your unit. This will help your technician determine the best course of action.