Furnace Repair in Johnson City, TN
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Washington County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Seven months of heat, and the cold snaps that stop it
Furnaces around Johnson City run from October through April. That is most of the year the burner is cycling on and off to hold the house against nights that average 29°F. Every one of those starts puts a little more wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, and eventually one of them fails to light the burner at all.
Most homes here heat with electricity, and the power does not always stay on through what the winter brings. Washington County has seen 30 winter storms and 40 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Tennessee, 20% of households went at least a full day without power in 2024. When the power drops mid-storm and comes back, a furnace that would have run fine can sit dead until someone finds out why.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 29°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 30 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often it's the thermostat, a tripped breaker, or the switch on the furnace itself that's been bumped off. Check the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, then check the breaker panel. Furnaces also have a power switch that looks like a light switch, usually near the unit or on it, and it's easy to knock off by accident. If those all check out and it still won't start, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be the problem, and that's a job for a contractor to open up and test.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is blowing but it's not warm, the furnace may be running its fan without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem or a safety switch shutting the burners down before they start. It can also mean the thermostat fan setting is on instead of auto, which just circulates room air with no heat behind it. Check that setting first since it takes a few seconds, and if it's already on auto, the furnace needs a contractor to look at why the burners aren't firing.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light 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 the valve shuts the gas off. Wind or a draft near the pilot can also blow it out, and dust or a dirty flame sensor can cause the same problem on newer ignition systems. A standing pilot works without power, so if this started when nothing else changed in the house, the thermocouple is the most likely cause and it's a straightforward part for a contractor to replace.