Furnace Repair in Castle Rock, CO
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Douglas County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat puts real wear on a Castle Rock furnace
Your furnace starts up around September and doesn't rest until May. That's nine months of the year, with winter lows averaging 17°F, so the burner is cycling on and off all night just to hold the house steady. Each start puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that get it lit.
Most homes here heat with gas. When the igniter finally gives out, the blower runs but no heat follows, or the furnace tries to start and shuts back down. Castle Rock has also logged 92 winter storms and 97 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and power interruptions come with both. A gas furnace with electronic ignition won't restart on its own once the power comes back. A cold house after a storm doesn't always mean something broke. Sometimes it just needs a reset.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 73%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 92 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $100 a year off heating for a typical Douglas County home.
Estimates for a typical Douglas County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Colorado 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 above room temperature, and check that the batteries aren't dead if it uses them. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker box and the furnace switch, which looks like a regular light switch near the unit. Furnaces also won't start if the air filter is badly clogged or if a safety switch has tripped, and a contractor can check both quickly. With winter lows here averaging 17°F, a furnace that won't start is worth getting looked at the same day.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running before the burners have lit, which happens for a short time on every startup and isn't a problem. If cold air keeps blowing during the whole cycle, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing, so the burners never light at all. A dirty flame sensor is a common cause and a contractor can clean or replace it. Check the air filter too, since a blocked filter can sometimes trigger the system to shut off the burners while the blower keeps running.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small part that senses whether the pilot flame is actually burning. When it wears out, it tells the gas valve to shut off even though the pilot is lit. A draft blowing out the flame or a dirty pilot orifice can also cause this. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if it's reading weak, which is a quick fix once diagnosed.