Furnace Repair in Albuquerque, NM
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Bernalillo County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat puts real wear on a furnace here
Albuquerque needs heat October through April. That's seven months of a burner lighting and shutting off, night after night, with winter lows averaging 23°F. Most homes in Bernalillo County heat with gas, so that burner and igniter are doing the work all season long.
All that cycling wears on the igniter first. It's the part that fails most, and when it does, the burner won't light at all. The area has also seen its share of winter storms and wind over the past ten years, and power blips during a cold snap can leave a furnace not restarting on its own. If your furnace is short cycling, blowing cold air, or not turning on, it's usually one of these.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 74%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 79 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $60 a year off heating for a typical Bernalillo County home.
Estimates for a typical Bernalillo 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.
That license comes from the Construction Industries Division, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The state stands behind the person holding it, not behind each repair that person does.
For a furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since that is where a mistake turns dangerous. In Bernalillo County, 74.3% of homes heat with gas, so getting that connection right is the thing a licensed contractor is on the hook for on a job like this.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common reason is a thermostat setting or a switch that got bumped, so check that first. After that, look at your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Furnaces also have a power switch that looks like a regular light switch on or near the unit, and if it's off the furnace won't start. If all of that checks out and it still won't run, the igniter or the flame sensor is probably the issue, and that's a job for a contractor to test and replace.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If the air coming out feels cold rather than warm, the burners likely aren't lighting even though the blower is running. That points to the igniter, the flame sensor, or the gas valve not doing its job. If the air is just cool for a moment, your furnace may be in a normal off cycle between heating bursts, which is ordinary. Either way, a furnace that runs but never gets hot needs a contractor to check the burner assembly, especially with winter nights here averaging 23°F.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out and is no longer sensing the flame correctly, so the gas valve shuts off as a safety measure. It can also mean a draft is blowing the pilot out, or the pilot orifice is dirty and the flame is too weak to hold. Relighting it yourself is fine to try once, following the instructions on the furnace, but if it keeps going out, the part needs to be replaced. Homes here need heat from October through April, so it's worth getting a contractor out before it fails on a cold night.