Furnace Repair in Denton, MD
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Caroline County will get in touch.
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Seven months of work for your furnace in Denton
From October through April, your furnace is what keeps a 28°F night out of the house. That is seven months of cycling on and off, and each start puts wear on the igniter. When it finally gives out, it tends to happen on the coldest nights, because that is when the furnace is working hardest.
57.6% of homes in Caroline County heat with electricity, and even a gas furnace needs power to run its blower and controls. Last year, 11% of Maryland households lost power for 24 hours or more, and this area has seen 9 winter storms and 75 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When the power goes out on a cold night, the furnace stops with it.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 9 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.
Maryland licenses HVAC contractors through the Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. The board tests contractors before granting that license and keeps a record of who holds one. The license covers the contractor, not each job, so it is not something reissued or checked off every time someone comes to your house. It is the state's record that this contractor met its standard before doing this kind of work anywhere in Maryland.
For a furnace repair in Caroline County, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. The gas connections on a furnace are the part worth getting right, and the license is the state's check on who is qualified to be the one making them.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it's the thermostat, the power supply, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room level, then check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, or a safety switch has shut the furnace down because of a clogged filter or a drain issue. A furnace here needs to work reliably from October through April, so if you can't find the problem in a few minutes, have a contractor look at it rather than wait.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Air blowing cold usually means the burners aren't lighting even though the blower is running. The blower can turn on for a minute before the burners fire, so a short burst of cool air is normal. If it keeps blowing cold, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing, or the gas valve isn't opening. A dirty filter can also cause the furnace to overheat and shut the burners off while the fan keeps running, so check the filter first.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This points 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 though the pilot is lit. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out, so check for anything nearby causing air movement. If relighting it doesn't hold, the thermocouple needs replacing, and a licensed contractor should handle that since it involves the gas line.