Furnace Repair in Gaithersburg, MD
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Montgomery County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat puts real wear on a furnace
Gaithersburg homes need heat from October through April. Winter nights average 27°F from December through February, so the furnace is not just running, it is working hard to keep up, cycling on and off many times a day for months at a stretch. Each cycle puts a small strain on the igniter and the parts that start the burner, and over a winter that adds up.
More than half of homes here heat with gas, and a furnace that won't light or won't stay lit is the most common way that wear shows up. Power matters too. Some winters bring storms that knock out electricity for a day or more, and a furnace with no power will not run no matter how sound it is otherwise.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 27°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 53%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 23 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 Montgomery County home.
Estimates for a typical Montgomery 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.
Maryland licenses HVAC contractors through the Maryland Board of Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Contractors. That board tests contractors before they can work and keeps them on record with the state. The license belongs to the contractor, not to each job, so it is the person or company you hire who was tested and is on file, not the specific repair done at your house.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work. Gas furnaces are common in Montgomery County, where 53.1% of homes heat with gas, and a bad gas connection is the dangerous part of this job. In Maryland, the license is what puts a name and a record behind whoever makes that connection.
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 setpoint is above room temperature, and check the batteries if it has a screen that looks dim. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. A furnace that still won't respond after that usually has a bad igniter, a failed control board, or a safety switch holding it off, and those need a contractor to find.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running before the burners have caught up, which is normal for a short stretch after it starts. If cold air keeps coming the whole time it runs, check your filter first. A clogged filter chokes airflow and can cause the furnace to overheat and shut the burners off while the fan keeps going. If the filter is clean and you're still getting cold air, the igniter or gas valve may be failing to light the burners at all, and that's a repair call.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is usually the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is real. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when there is one and shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same thing. Either way it's a part a contractor replaces or adjusts, not something to keep relighting on your own.