Furnace Repair in Dundalk, MD
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Baltimore County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
Dundalk needs the furnace running from October through April. That is seven months of the burner cycling on and off, and on winter nights that average 26°F, it cycles a lot to keep up. Each start is a small strain on the igniter and the parts that get it lit. Over enough winters, that wear catches up, and the furnace either won't light or won't stay running.
Baltimore County has seen 33 winter storms and 314 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms here have knocked out power to homes for a day or more. A furnace needs electricity to run its blower and controls even if it burns gas, so when the power drops, the heat drops with it. Most systems come back on their own once power is restored, but if yours doesn't, that's worth a call.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 26°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 52%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 33 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $130 a year off heating for a typical Baltimore County home.
Estimates for a typical Baltimore County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Maryland fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed and the heat exchanger is sound.
Replacement makes sense when the heat exchanger is cracked or the furnace keeps needing parts.
Maryland requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors licenses the contractor, not the job. That means the state tested this contractor and keeps a record of the license before any work starts. It does not mean someone from the state checks this particular furnace repair.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work here. There is no separate inspection of the job itself, so the license is the protection Maryland gives you on this kind of repair. Just over half the homes in Baltimore County heat with gas, and a gas furnace is exactly what this license covers.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Check the thermostat first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped to cool will stop the furnace before it starts. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch on or near the unit. Gas furnaces also need the pilot lit or the igniter working, so no heat at all often traces back to one of those two things. If everything checks out and it still won't fire, a contractor licensed by the Maryland Board of HVACR Contractors can find out why.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- A furnace blows cold air for a few seconds when it first starts, while the burners warm up before the blower kicks in. If cold air keeps coming the whole time it runs, the burners may not be lighting even though the blower is. A clogged filter can also cause this by starving the burners of the airflow they need to stay lit. With winter lows here averaging 26°F, a furnace that won't actually heat needs attention fast, so it's worth having a contractor look at it the same day you notice it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- The most common cause is a worn thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out, it can't sense the flame properly and shuts the gas off even though the pilot is lit. A draft in the furnace area or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same problem. Since homes here need heat from October through April, a pilot that won't hold is worth having a licensed contractor check before the next cold stretch.