Furnace Repair in Greenfield, MA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Franklin County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, and nights near 17 degrees
Greenfield needs heat from October through May. That is eight months of the burner cycling on and off, and on the coldest nights, when it is holding the house against a 17 degree low, it runs longer and starts more often. Every start puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit.
A lot of homes here heat with fuel oil, and an oil furnace depends on a clean nozzle and a steady spark to fire correctly. When the power drops during a winter storm, the furnace stops no matter what is fueling it. Franklin County sees storms and damaging wind most winters, and when the power is out for a while, the furnace will not run again on its own once it comes back if something else has failed along the way.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 59 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the power switch. The switch looks like a light switch and sits on or near the furnace itself, and it can get bumped off without anyone noticing. Check the breaker too, since a furnace that won't start at all is often a power problem rather than a furnace problem. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch may be keeping it from starting, and that calls for a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the burners aren't lighting even though the blower is running. The blower moves air whether or not the furnace is actually heating it, so you feel airflow but no warmth. A dirty flame sensor or a failed igniter are common reasons the burners won't stay lit. Air that's cool at first and warms up after a minute is normal, but air that stays cold points to a problem a contractor needs to look at.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame and is shutting the gas off as a safety measure. It can also be a draft blowing the pilot out or a dirty pilot orifice. A pilot that lights but won't stay lit is a repair, not something to keep relighting on your own. With winter lows here averaging 17°F, this isn't one to leave for long.