Furnace Repair in Los Alamos, NM
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Los Alamos County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, and winter lows near 19°F
Your furnace in Los Alamos County works from September through May. That is nine months a year. On winter nights that average 19°F, it runs long and it runs often, cycling on and off to hold the house at temperature.
Most homes here heat with gas, so the burner and igniter carry that load night after night. Each cycle is another chance for a worn igniter to fail or a flame sensor to give a false reading. Both show up the same way. The furnace tries to start and cannot, or it shuts off partway through a cycle. This county has logged 31 winter storms over the past ten years, and a furnace that will not hold on through one of them leaves the house cold when it matters most.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 82%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 31 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $90 a year off heating for a typical Los Alamos County home.
Estimates for a typical Los Alamos 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, not to any single job. That means the person working on your furnace already had to prove they know the trade, and there is a record of who they are if something goes wrong.
A furnace repair means someone is working on a gas connection, and that connection is the part that has to be right. In New Mexico, the license is what stands behind that work, because the state already checked the contractor doing it. Most homes in Los Alamos County heat with gas, so this is the repair the license exists for.
Source: New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker it runs on. If those are fine, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the burners likely aren't lighting even though the blower is running. A dirty flame sensor is a common cause. It's the part that confirms the burners lit, and when it's coated with residue the furnace shuts off the gas as a safety measure while the fan keeps blowing. A clogged filter can also starve the burners of the airflow they need to stay lit. Either way, a contractor licensed through New Mexico's Construction Industries Division can find which one it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out. It's the small part that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is lit. Once it fails, the valve shuts the gas off as soon as you let go of the button, even though the pilot was burning fine a moment before. A draft blowing out the pilot is possible too, but if it happens repeatedly, the thermocouple is the more likely cause. With most homes here relying on gas heat through winters that average 19°F, this isn't something to leave for long. A licensed contractor can replace the part.