Furnace Repair in Blackfoot, ID
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Bingham County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
Blackfoot needs heat from September through June. That is ten months of the year your furnace is cycling on and off, and on winter nights that average 16°F, it runs long and hard to keep up. Every start puts a load on the igniter and the burner, and that adds up fast over a season this long.
Bingham County has logged 134 winter storms and 109 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that can snuff a pilot or push cold air through a flue that is not drafting right, and power still goes out. Across Idaho, 11% of households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. When the power drops and comes back, most furnaces restart on their own, but if yours does not fire back up, that is worth a look before the next cold night.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 134 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $100 a year off heating for a typical Bingham County home.
Estimates for a typical Bingham County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Idaho 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.
Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not tied to this specific furnace repair. Idaho's HVAC Board is the body that licenses HVAC contractors in this state, so the license names a contractor the board has on record, not just a business operating under that name.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your gas lines and connections. A bad connection is the dangerous part of this job, and in Idaho the license is what the state puts between you and that risk. In Bingham County, close to half of homes heat with gas, so this is common work here.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the setting is above room temperature, since a stuck setting or dead batteries are an easy thing to miss. If that's fine, check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. Gas furnaces also need the pilot lit or the igniter working, so if power and the thermostat check out, the problem is likely inside the unit and worth having a contractor look at.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is running the blower but hasn't fired up the burners yet, so you're feeling fan air, not heat. Check that the thermostat fan setting is on auto, not on. If it's on auto and you're still getting cold air, the burners may not be igniting, which points to the igniter, the flame sensor, or the gas supply. With nights around 16°F through the winter here, that's not something to leave alone. A contractor can find which part is failing.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out. It's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is lit. Once it wears out, it can't hold that signal and the valve shuts the gas off, even though you just relit it. A draft blowing out the pilot is possible too, but if it keeps happening, the thermocouple is the more likely reason and a contractor can replace it.