Furnace Repair in Frederick, MD
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Frederick County will get in touch.
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Frederick County asks a lot of your furnace
Your furnace runs from October through April here, seven months of the year. On winter nights that average 26°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Every one of those starts puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner going. When one of them finally gives out, the furnace stops firing and the house cools down fast.
More than half the homes in the area heat with electricity, so a power outage means no heat at all, not just a thermostat that stops working. Frederick County has seen 23 winter storms and 276 damaging wind events over the past ten years, the kind of weather that knocks out power and puts a furnace to the test the moment it comes back on.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 26°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 23 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 licenses the contractor, not each job. The Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors tests contractors before they can hold that license, and keeps a record of who holds one. That testing happens once, when the license is issued, not each time a contractor takes on a repair.
For a furnace repair, the gas connection is the part that matters most. A loose fitting or a bad seal is what turns a repair into a hazard. Because Maryland licenses the contractor rather than the job, it is the contractor's license, not an inspection of this repair, that stands behind the work getting done right.
Sources: Maryland General Assembly · Maryland Department of Labor
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may have failed, and that calls for a licensed contractor to open it up and test it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- A furnace that runs but blows cold air usually hasn't ignited the gas, even though the blower is on. That points to a bad igniter, a dirty flame sensor, or a gas valve that isn't opening. It can also mean the blower is running on its own delay before the burners fire, which is normal for a few seconds after startup but not for minutes. If cold air keeps blowing past that, a contractor needs to check the ignition system directly.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer hold the gas valve open once you let go of it. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same thing. Newer furnaces don't use a standing pilot at all, so if yours is older, this is a common wear part to replace. A licensed contractor can test the thermocouple and pilot assembly and replace what's failing.