Furnace Repair in Barnstable Town, MA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Barnstable County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, on nights near 26 degrees
Furnaces in Barnstable Town run from October through May. That is eight months of the year when the burner is cycling on and off, and on winter nights that average 26°F, it cycles often to keep up. Each start puts wear on the igniter, and over enough cold months that wear catches up. When it fails, the burner won't light at all and the house goes cold.
Barnstable County has seen 14 winter storms and 249 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind and ice bring down power lines, and statewide, 10% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. Most gas furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the power drops, so does the heat, even with the gas still on.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 26°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 61%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 14 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $190 a year off heating for a typical Barnstable County home.
Estimates for a typical Barnstable County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Massachusetts 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.
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace itself. A closed gas valve, a tripped breaker, or a switch on the furnace or nearby wall in the off position will all keep it from starting. Many furnaces also have a flame sensor or limit switch that shuts the whole system down if it senses a problem, and that can look like the furnace won't start at all when really it's protecting itself. If power, gas, and the thermostat all check out, a contractor will need to look at what's stopping it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. That can happen if the igniter is worn out, the flame sensor is dirty, or the gas supply is interrupted. It can also mean the furnace is in the middle of its normal startup, where the blower kicks on a few seconds before the burners fire. If the air stays cold the whole time the furnace runs, something is stopping ignition and a contractor will need to find out what.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit is almost always the thermocouple. That's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is burning. When it wears out or gets out of position, it can't sense the flame anymore, so the gas valve shuts the pilot off as a safety measure. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot opening can cause the same thing. A contractor can tell which one it is and replace the thermocouple if that's the cause.