Furnace Repair in Nantucket, MA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Nantucket County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and storms that cut the power
Your furnace works from October through May here. That is eight months a year of the burner lighting and shutting off, day after day, and every cycle wears on the igniter and the flame sensor a little more.
Nantucket winter nights average 28°F, so the furnace is running long stretches to keep up. The county has seen 7 winter storms and 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Massachusetts about 1 in 10 households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. When the power drops, the furnace stops with it, and it should start back up on its own once power returns. If it does not, that points to a problem with the furnace itself, not the outage.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 7 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it is set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead furnace. Next check the power switch on or near the furnace and the breaker at your panel, since a tripped breaker will stop it cold. If those are fine, the igniter or flame sensor may have failed, and that is a job for a contractor to diagnose. Nantucket sees enough winter storms and wind that a power blip is also worth ruling out before anything else.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running before the burner has caught up, which is normal for a short stretch after the furnace starts. If cold air keeps coming for more than a few minutes, the igniter or flame sensor likely failed and the burner never lit. A clogged filter can also starve the burner of the airflow it needs to run right. If the air stays cold, shut the system off and have a contractor look at it, especially with lows near 28°F overnight here.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that keeps going out is usually a sign the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer hold the gas valve open. It can also mean a draft is reaching the pilot, or the pilot orifice is partly clogged. This is not something to keep relighting on your own, since it points to a part that needs replacing. Have a contractor check it, especially with heat needed here from October through May.