Your furnace is outfitted with either an automatic ignition or a pilot light. It’s likely that you have an automatic ignition furnace if you have a newer model. If you do have an automatic ignition, which relies on an electrical pulse to ignite the burner, then it’s liable to fail for a variety of reasons. You may have lost electricity to the sparker, which means that your burner won’t be able to ignite. You may also have a gunked-up gas ignition source, which will keep gas from flowing over the sparker. Your burner may also be dirty or blocked, which will keep them from producing a sustained flame. Finally, one of your system’s failsafe mechanisms may have tripped, which will keep the ignitor from functioning until the situation is remedied. Automatic ignition systems have a variety of failsafe protocols in place to keep gas from seeping out at the burner or ignition source if a flame cannot be produced — this is a safety measure to prevent dangerous gas buildup. If you cannot assess the source of the problem on your own, don’t hesitate to give us a call to take a look. We’ll locate the issue at hand, and we can repair your furnace quickly so that your home is safe and comfortable once again.

Your furnace may also rely on a pilot light to operate. A pilot light is a small flame that is constantly maintained with a bit of gas, which is necessary to operate the burners once the furnace clicks on. If your pilot light goes out, your burners won’t be able to ignite. Your pilot can blow out fairly easily if there is air movement near the pilot. In addition, your pilot tube may get dirty or gunked up, which can cause the flame to extinguish. Once your pilot has failed, you’ll have to relight it before starting your furnace again. You can follow the instructions in your owner’s manual (or often on the furnace itself) if you’d like to attempt to relight the pilot on your own. However, it’s likely that your pilot source should be cleaned to ensure that the pilot doesn’t fail once again. If your pilot has failed and you can’t resolve the issue on your own, be sure the furnace is set to off at the thermostat and shut off the gas to the furnace until an expert can assess the situation.

Your burner assembly can get gunked up over time. As dust, hair, and other particles pass over the burner, the assembly can slowly accumulate a buildup which can block the burner outputs. Once your burner is clogged enough, it may not produce much heat, or it may fail to sustain a flame altogether. Be mindful that if you are experiencing poor heat flow through your vents, or if your heat has cut out altogether, then a dirty burner may be to blame. If that’s the case, we can take apart the burner assembly and clean the burner and the burner chamber to ensure that your furnace has a sustained flame.

Your furnace relies on various electrical components to operate. The blower fan, the thermostat, and the automatic ignition (if your furnace has one) all rely on electricity to operate. Your system may also have a failsafe device that relies on electricity. That’s why even a damaged wire can render your furnace inoperable. If you’re experiencing a complete failure from your furnace, then you may have an electrical issue — we can test your system’s electrical components to pinpoint the issue, and we can repair or replace your furnace’s electrical components.

Your thermostat should trigger your furnace to click on at the right moment. However, you could have several issues that keep your thermostat from operating as it should. You may have a thermostat with an electrical issue, as we just mentioned. Or, you may have a poorly calibrated thermostat. In addition, your thermostat may be situated in an inopportune place in your home, which will make the temperature readings inconsistent. If you have thermostat issues, your furnace may not come on, it may not stay on long enough, or it may be working more than it should, leaving your home overheated. Regardless of the situation at hand, we can take a look, assess the problem at hand, and fix, replace, or move your current thermostat.

Your blower fan is responsible for pushing the hot air that your furnace produces through your ventilation system to the rooms throughout your home. If you have a blower fan issue, then hot air may just sit at the furnace (which can lead to additional problems). You should be able to hear your blower fan turn on as your furnace starts up — it will sound just like a fan with a motor. If you don’t hear a fan motor, and can’t feel air movement from the vents in your home, then your motor has failed. In addition, if your fan is making loud noises (often screeching or whining), then your blower may be inefficient and require service. We can fix or replace your blower motor, and we will oil and maintain the motor to ensure that it has a longer service life.

If you place your hand over your vents and you aren’t feeling much heat or air movement, then you may be experiencing a variety of issues. As we mentioned, your blower fan may be operating poorly (or not at all). You may also have burner issues, keeping your furnace from producing sufficient heat. Or, you may have a pilot or ignition failure which means that the system won’t work at all. In addition, you may have a blockage in your ventilation system, or you may have an air filter that is dirty, which will make it difficult for your blower fan to pump enough air throughout your home. Due to the complexity of the issue, you may have to have a technician locate the source of the problem — we’d be happy to help!