Furnace Repair in Alamogordo, NM
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Otero County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Seven months of work in the cold
Your furnace runs from October through April here, seven months of the year. On winter nights that average 28°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Each start puts load on the igniter and the burner, and those are the parts that tend to wear down first.
Otero County has seen 32 winter storms and 83 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and power loss often comes with that kind of weather. Across New Mexico, 13% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. Most furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the power drops in a storm, the heat stops with it.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 52%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 32 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $50 a year off heating for a typical Otero County home.
Estimates for a typical Otero County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New Mexico 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.
New Mexico requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industries Division tests contractors before they can hold this license, and the license belongs to the contractor rather than to any single job. That means the credential you check is on the person or company doing the work, not on the paperwork for this particular furnace repair.
For a gas furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection itself, since a bad joint or a bad seal is what makes the repair dangerous rather than just ineffective. A licensed contractor is the one accountable for getting that connection right. More than half the homes in Otero County heat with gas, so this is not a rare repair here, and the same state license covers it.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common cause is the thermostat not sending power to the furnace, so check that it's set to heat and the batteries are good. A tripped breaker or a switch near the furnace left off will also keep it from starting. If those are fine, the ignition system or a safety switch may be stopping it from firing, and that's a job for a contractor to test and fix.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If the air coming out is cold rather than just cool, the burners likely aren't lighting even though the blower is running. That points to an ignition problem, a closed gas valve, or a safety sensor holding the furnace back from firing. A furnace that only blows air without heat needs a contractor to find out why the burners aren't lighting.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame and shutting the gas back off. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same problem. This isn't something to keep relighting on your own since it involves gas, so have a contractor check it, especially with 7 months of heating ahead this year.