Furnace Repair in Nashville, TN
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Davidson County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Seven months of heating puts real wear on your furnace
From October through April your furnace is what keeps the house livable, and on nights that average 31°F it runs long enough and often enough that the parts inside take the wear. The igniter lights the burner over and over through a winter this long, and it's usually the first thing to fail. When it does, the furnace won't light at all.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the furnace stops with it. Davidson County sees its share of winter storms and wind, and Tennessee households went without power for a full day or more often enough in 2024 that it's worth planning around. A furnace that won't restart after the power comes back on is usually a different problem than one that quit mid-storm, and either way it's worth having checked.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 31°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 10 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 furnace switch. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, and check the breaker panel for the furnace. Furnaces also have a power switch that looks like a light switch, usually near the unit, and it can get bumped off. If power and settings check out, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and that calls for a contractor to test.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If the air only feels cold at first, that's normal. It takes a minute for air moving through the ducts to warm up once the furnace starts. If it stays cold the whole time it runs, the igniter may not be lighting the burners, or the flame sensor may be shutting the burners off right after they light. A dirty filter can also block airflow enough to trip the limit switch and stop heat production while the fan keeps running. A contractor can check which of these it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out or the pilot line is dirty. The thermocouple is the small sensor that tells the furnace a flame is present, and it wears out over time like any part. Wind or a draft near the unit can also blow the pilot out, so check that vents and access panels are closed properly. If it's a standing pilot, it draws no power on its own, so a power issue is not the cause. A contractor can clean the line or replace the thermocouple.