Furnace Repair in Reno, NV
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Washoe County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and cold nights that don't let up
Reno furnaces run October through May. That's eight months of the year the burner has to light, night after night, with winter lows that average 23°F. Every one of those starts puts wear on the igniter and the parts around it, and over enough cold nights, one of them gives out. The furnace tries to start and doesn't, or it shuts off partway through a cycle.
Most furnaces here run on gas, and gas furnaces still need power to run the blower and controls. Washoe County sees its share of winter storms and wind, and when the power drops, so does the heat. If your furnace stopped working after an outage, or it's been struggling to keep up on the coldest nights, that's worth looking at now rather than waiting.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 61%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 232 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $140 a year off heating for a typical Washoe County home.
Estimates for a typical Washoe County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Nevada 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.
Nevada requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Nevada licenses HVAC contractors through the Nevada State Contractors Board. That license covers the contractor, not each job, so it stands behind whatever furnace work they take on, not just this one repair.
On a gas furnace, the connection between the gas line and the burner is the part that matters most, since that is where a mistake turns dangerous. In Washoe County, 60.6% of homes heat with gas, and that connection is what the state license is meant to stand behind here.
Sources: Nevada Legislature · Nevada State Contractors Board
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or a safety switch has shut the furnace down. Check that the thermostat is set above room temperature and has power, then check the switch on the furnace itself, which looks like a light switch, and the door panel, which has to be seated shut for the furnace to run. If those check out, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and a contractor will need to test them.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Usually the blower is running before the burners have lit, or the furnace is stuck on fan-only. Give it a few minutes after it starts, since some warm-up delay is normal. If cold air keeps coming and never turns warm, the igniter or the gas valve likely isn't lighting the burners, and that's a job for a contractor to diagnose.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This almost always means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer hold the gas valve open once you let go of it. A draft blowing out the pilot is possible too, but if it happens over and over, the thermocouple is the likely cause. Either way it needs a contractor to replace the part, since the gas valve shouldn't be forced open.