Furnace Repair in Moscow, ID
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Latah County will get in touch.
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Your furnace works nearly all year here
In Moscow, homes need heat from September through June. That's 10 months of the burner lighting and shutting off, night after night, to keep up with winter lows that average 25°F. Every one of those cycles puts wear on the igniter and the parts that sense the flame once it's lit. Over ten months, that wear adds up faster than it would somewhere with a short winter.
Most homes here heat with electricity, and Idaho households see real power outages. When the power drops, an electric furnace stops with it, even if nothing is wrong with the unit itself. If your furnace won't start after the lights flicker or a storm passes through, that's often the first thing worth checking.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 25°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 251 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Idaho requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is issued to the contractor, not to the job, so the same license that lets a contractor take on any HVAC work in Idaho is what qualifies them to repair your furnace. The state tested that contractor before handing it out, and the license ties back to a person or business on record with the HVAC Board.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your gas line and burner. A bad gas connection is the part of this job that can hurt someone, and the license is Idaho's way of recording who is qualified to touch it.
Sources: Idaho Legislature · Idaho Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way you think it is, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set above room temperature and has fresh batteries if it takes them. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker it runs on. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be at fault, and that's a job for a contractor to test and replace.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the blower without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem, a dirty flame sensor, or a gas supply issue. It can also mean the thermostat fan is set to "on" instead of "auto", which pushes air even between heating cycles. Given how many months a year homes here rely on the furnace, it's worth having someone look at it quickly rather than waiting.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple has worn out and no longer senses the flame correctly, so the gas valve shuts it off. It can also mean a draft is blowing the flame out or the pilot orifice is partly clogged. A standing pilot burns gas whether or not the furnace is heating, so this isn't a power issue, it's a parts and airflow issue. A contractor can test the thermocouple and clean or adjust the pilot assembly.