Furnace Repair in Bonners Ferry, ID
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Boundary County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat puts real hours on your furnace
In Bonners Ferry, your furnace runs from September through June. That is ten months of the year, with only a short break in summer. Winter nights average 20°F from December through February, so the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a time, night after night.
All those cycles wear on the parts that start the burner and keep it running. The igniter weakens a little each time it lights. The flame sensor can build up residue until it stops sensing the flame at all. With this much winter storm activity in the area, power blinks and outages are common too, and a furnace that loses power mid-cycle can fail to restart correctly. You will notice it as a furnace that struggles to light, short-cycles, or blows cold air when you need heat the most.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 20°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 338 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 Boundary County home.
Estimates for a typical Boundary 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 state tests the contractor and keeps a record of that license, not a record of every job the contractor does. So the license tells you this person met Idaho's standard to work on heating systems, but it doesn't mean the state signed off on your furnace specifically.
For a furnace repair, the license is what stands behind the work. Gas furnaces need a sound connection and a proper burn, and that's the part a licensed contractor is trained and accountable for getting right. In Boundary County, where close to four in ten homes heat with gas, that accountability is the thing worth knowing is there before someone opens up the unit.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common reason is a thermostat set wrong or a dead thermostat battery, so check that first. After that, look at your breaker panel and your furnace's own power switch, since a tripped breaker or a switch bumped off will stop it cold. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed or the flame sensor may be dirty, and either one will keep the furnace from firing even though it's getting power. Homes here need heat from September through June, so a furnace that won't start at all needs a look before the next cold night.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Check your thermostat fan setting first. If it's set to "on" instead of "auto", the blower runs constantly and pushes cold air between heating cycles, which feels like the furnace isn't heating at all. If the setting is right and you're still getting cold air, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing, so the burners aren't lighting even though the blower turns on. A dirty filter can also choke airflow enough that the air feels cool by the time it reaches the vent. With winter nights here averaging 20°F, this isn't something to leave for long.
- 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 burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when one is there and shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same thing. This isn't a homeowner fix since it involves the gas valve, so it needs a licensed contractor. Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the state's HVAC Board, and in Boundary County, where 38.8% of homes heat with gas, this is a common call for them.