Furnace Repair in Huntington, UT
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Emery County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
Huntington needs a working furnace from October through May. That is eight months of the year, with winter nights averaging 19°F from December through February. At that temperature your furnace is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, and every cycle means another round of ignition.
Most homes here heat with gas, so that ignition sequence, the igniter, the flame sensor, the gas valve, is doing this over and over through a long winter. Emery County also sees real storms, 54 winter storms and 17 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind and cold snaps put more demand on a furnace right when a power blip can shut it down entirely. When it won't restart, or it's running but the house still isn't warming up, that is wear catching up with it, not bad luck.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 59%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 54 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $110 a year off heating for a typical Emery County home.
Estimates for a typical Emery County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Utah 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.
Utah requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license belongs to the contractor, not to the job. Utah tested that person or business and put its name on record with the Division of Professional Licensing, and every furnace repair they do falls under that license. The state does carve out one exception. Work under $7,000 does not need a licensed contractor.
When a job does call for a licensed contractor, that license is what stands behind the work, since Utah's is a real license and not just a business on file. Furnace repair involves gas lines and burners, and a bad connection there is the dangerous part of the job. In Emery County, close to six in ten homes heat with gas, which is exactly where that connection matters.
Sources: Utah State Legislature · Utah Department of Commerce
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is above the room's current reading, since a low battery or a setting bumped to cool will stop the furnace from starting. Next check the power switch on or near the furnace and the breaker in the panel. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, or the flame sensor may be dirty enough that the furnace shuts itself off as a safety measure. A licensed contractor can test the igniter and sensor and tell you which part is at fault.
- 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 the thermostat calls for heat. If cold air keeps coming, the igniter might not be lighting the gas, or the flame sensor might be shutting the burners off right after they start. A clogged filter can also starve the burners of air and trip the same safety shutoff. Check the filter first, since that's something you can see yourself, then have a contractor check the igniter and sensor if the air stays cold.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is usually the thermocouple, the small rod that sits in the flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, the valve reads no flame and shuts the gas off even though the pilot is lit. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so check for anything blocking the flame housing. If the pilot still won't hold after you've relit it a couple of times, a contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it.