Furnace Repair in Cambridge, MD
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dorchester County will get in touch.
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Seven months of Cambridge winters wear on a furnace
Your furnace works from October through April here, and on winter nights that average 29°F it runs long and often to hold the house steady. That kind of steady cycling wears on the igniter and the burner over a season, and it usually shows up as short cycling or a furnace that will not light at all.
More than half the homes in the area heat with electricity, so a power outage means no heat, not just a quieter furnace. The last ten years brought 12 winter storms and 58 damaging wind events to the area, and statewide, 11% of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. When the power comes back, some furnaces need a reset before they will fire again.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 29°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 12 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 license is held by the contractor, not issued job by job, so it is the business and the people running it that were tested and are on record with the Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors, not this particular furnace repair.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work. A furnace burns gas, and a loose or corroded connection is the dangerous part of the job. In Maryland, that is the licensed contractor's responsibility, covered under the same license the state requires them to hold.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the temperature is above room level, and check the batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace switch and the breaker, since either one being off will keep the whole system dead. Many furnaces also stop for a clogged filter or a condensate line backed up with water, and the unit will lock itself out rather than run unsafely. If power, thermostat and filter all check out and the furnace still won't start, the ignition system or a safety switch likely needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- In most cases the furnace hasn't actually reached temperature yet. Furnaces push air through the ducts before the burner fully heats it, so a minute or two of cool air at the start of a cycle is normal. If it stays cold the whole time the furnace is running, the igniter or the burner may be failing to light, or the thermostat fan setting may be stuck on. With nights averaging 29°F here from December through February, this isn't something to leave for long. A contractor can tell whether it's the ignition system or the thermostat causing it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads the flame as out and shuts the gas off even while the pilot is lit. A draft near the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can also blow it out or choke the flame. Relighting it yourself will only hold until the same cause repeats, so if it keeps going out, the thermocouple or the orifice needs a contractor's attention.