Furnace Repair in Quincy, MA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Norfolk County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat puts real wear on your furnace
From October through May your furnace is what stands between your house and the cold, and winter nights here average 21°F. That is eight months of the year it has to cycle on and off to hold the house at temperature. Each time it fires, the igniter and burner take the wear, and over eight months that adds up.
Massachusetts also sees its share of power loss. About 1 in 10 households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A furnace that was running fine can go dark when the power drops, and when it comes back, a weak igniter or control board may not recover on its own. If your furnace is blowing cold air, short cycling, or not starting at all, that is usually a part giving out under the load.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 21°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 54%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 87 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $200 a year off heating for a typical Norfolk County home.
Estimates for a typical Norfolk 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. Check that it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, and check the batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks right, check the power switch on the furnace itself, usually a light switch near the unit, and check that the breaker hasn't tripped. Many furnaces also won't start if the air filter is badly clogged, since the safety switches shut the unit down rather than let it overheat. If none of that brings it back on, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may have failed, and that calls for a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The most common reason is the fan running without the burners lit. If the thermostat fan setting is on rather than auto, the blower keeps moving air even when the furnace isn't heating, and that air will feel cold. If the fan is set to auto and you're still getting cold air, the burners may be failing to ignite, which is a job for a contractor. A clogged filter can also starve the system of airflow and throw off how warm the air feels at the vents, so check that first.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This almost always points to the thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame and keeps gas flowing to it. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads the flame as out even when it's lit, and shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out, so check if the area around the furnace has an open vent or gap letting in air. If the flame relights but won't stay on past a few seconds, the thermocouple needs to be adjusted or replaced by a contractor.