Furnace Repair in Annapolis, MD
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Anne Arundel County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat, on nights near freezing
Annapolis homes need the furnace running from October through April. That is seven months of the year the burner has to light, reliably, on nights that average 29°F. Every one of those cycles puts wear on the igniter and the parts that control the flame.
Anne Arundel County has seen 10 winter storms and 248 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that can knock out power, and about half the homes here heat with electricity. When the power drops mid-storm and comes back, a furnace that was already struggling with a weak igniter or a failing part may not restart on its own.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 29°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 10 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Maryland requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the Board keeps a record of who holds one. It's the business that's licensed, not the crew sent out or the specific repair, so the license tells you the company itself met Maryland's standard, not that this particular furnace job was pre-approved.
For a gas furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since a poor one is what turns a repair into a hazard. Maryland's license is what stands behind that work here. The license is on the contractor, and it's the reason there's a state record to check at all.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't sending power to the furnace, or the furnace isn't getting power itself. Check that the thermostat has fresh batteries and is set to heat, and check the breaker and the switch that looks like a light switch near the furnace, it's an off switch. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed or a safety switch may have tripped and shut the furnace down on purpose. A contractor can test the igniter and the safety switches to find which one stopped it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The blower is running before the burners have lit, or the burners aren't lighting at all. A furnace pushes a few seconds of cold air at the start of every cycle while it fires up, so brief cold air is normal. If it stays cold, the igniter or flame sensor likely failed and the burners never lit, or the filter is clogged enough to trip a safety limit and shut the burners off while the blower keeps running. A contractor can tell which one it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A weak or dirty thermocouple is the usual cause. That's the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning, and once it's coated with soot or wearing out, it reads the flame as out and cuts the gas even though the pilot is lit. A draft blowing into the pilot chamber can also blow it out. If relighting it doesn't hold, the thermocouple needs to be cleaned or replaced, and a contractor can check that along with the gas valve.