Furnace Repair in Springfield, MA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hampden County will get in touch.
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Eight months of hard use in Springfield
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months of the year. On winter nights that average 19°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Every one of those cycles puts a small load on the igniter and the blower motor, and over a season that adds up faster than it does in milder places.
Hampden County has seen 47 winter storms and 227 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that can knock out power, and across Massachusetts about 1 in 10 households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. A furnace with a standing pilot will still light without power, but most modern furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the lights go out, the heat does too.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 47 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $210 a year off heating for a typical Hampden County home.
Estimates for a typical Hampden 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 and the power switch, since those cause more no-heat calls than anything inside the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and look for a switch that looks like a light switch near the furnace, sometimes in a basement stairway, that needs to be on. If those are fine, check the breaker and the furnace door, which has to be seated all the way for a safety switch to let the furnace run. A furnace that still won't start after that likely has a failed part, and with winter lows here averaging 19°F, this is worth getting a contractor out for soon.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running before the burners have caught up, which is normal for the first minute or so after a cycle starts. If cold air keeps coming for longer than that, the burners may not be lighting at all while the fan keeps moving air through the ducts. A clogged filter can also starve the burners of the airflow they need to stay lit. If changing the filter doesn't fix it, the igniter or flame sensor is a likely cause, and a contractor can test both.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer sense that the pilot is burning, so the gas valve shuts it off. A draft blowing out the flame is another common cause, and a dirty pilot orifice can also keep it from staying lit. Homes here run the furnace eight months of the year, so a pilot that won't hold is worth fixing rather than relighting again and again. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if it's the cause.