Your family most benefits from the HVAC system inside your home on days with the most extreme temperatures outdoors. Ensuring a working system on the days when temperatures are most unforgiving is important, particularly if you have young children to keep warm or cool down. If you're not comfortable somewhere in the house and it doesn't seem like the system is functional, attempt these tasks 

Try the Batteries

Panicking when you'd like the heat on but it's not working is not an unnatural reaction. However, put your panic in check by first replacing thermostat batteries. Dead batteries can cause you to think there's a major HVAC failure when there isn't. A quick change can get your cool air or heat working quickly.

Expose Vents

Many times, in the spring and fall when you may not be using the HVAC system much during the day, it's easy to block vents. Blockage can happen if you just close a vent and forget to open it, for instance. You may pile up Christmas decoration boxes right in front of a vent, or you might have pushed the sofa up against vents accidentally. However, blocked vents lead to inconsistent heating or cooling. Blocked vents also make the HVAC main unit overwork, wearing it down. For those reasons, it's imperative that you locate and open every vent before powering up.  This encourages air circulation and can make the HVAC system feel more effective.

Explore Unit Area

Poor functioning can also be traced to physical impediments interfering with the main unit. You may be worried that cool air isn't going to reach you at all, but you may just need a few moments outside with the unit. Small twigs could have gotten stuck in fan blades, as could dead leaves. Rattling screws may have concerned you when hearing them from indoors, but you may see that they simply indicate the unit has become loose and needs to be secured better; screwing them in can eliminate noise and related worries.

Re-evaluate Power Needs

A non-functioning HVAC system could just be tripping your circuit breaker repeatedly. You may suspect motor problems or other issues, but if the system keeps failing, perhaps contacting an electrician is necessary. You may need a new circuit panel or more electricity delivered to your property; if you're using a lot of appliances and electronics and seem to continue having HVAC power problems, that could be related.

Efforts like these may solve big HVAC-related problems. Schedule an assessment of your system by an HVAC service to pinpoint trouble.