Furnace Repair in Detroit, MI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Wayne County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, one shot after another to light it
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months out of the year. On winter nights that average 21°F, it cycles on and off again and again just to hold the temperature. Every one of those starts puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, and after enough winters one of them gives out. That usually shows up as a furnace that clicks and tries to start but never catches, or one that runs for a few minutes and shuts itself off.
Most homes here heat with gas, and gas furnaces need power to run the blower and the controls even though the flame doesn't. Michigan sees its share of winter storms and wind, and a third of households across the state lost power for at least a day in 2024. When the power drops mid-winter, the furnace stops with it, and it needs that power back before it will light again on its own.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 21°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 84%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 14 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $140 a year off heating for a typical Wayne County home.
Estimates for a typical Wayne County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Michigan 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.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is tied to the contractor, not to any single repair. Michigan's Board of Mechanical Rules tests and records the person or company before they can take on furnace work anywhere in the state, and that license travels with them from job to job rather than being issued fresh each time.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your gas line and burner assembly. A bad gas connection is the real danger in this kind of job, and the license means the state has already checked that the contractor knows how to make that connection safely. In Wayne County, where most homes run on gas heat, that is the piece of the job the license is actually vouching for.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat is asking for heat but the furnace isn't getting the signal or the power to respond. Check that the thermostat has fresh batteries and is set below room temperature. After that, check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. If those are fine, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and that calls for a contractor to test.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Air that feels cold coming out of the vents usually means the blower is running without a flame behind it. That points to an ignition problem, a clogged filter starving the burner of air, or a thermostat set to "fan on" instead of "auto", which pushes room-temperature air through the ducts even when the furnace isn't heating. A dirty filter is worth checking first since it's the one thing you can fix yourself. If the filter is clean and the fan setting is right, the burner itself needs a contractor's attention.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This is almost always the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep the gas flowing. When it wears out or sits slightly out of position, it reads the flame as out even when it isn't, and the valve shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot can also snuff it out on its own. If relighting it doesn't hold, the thermocouple needs to be adjusted or replaced, and that's a job for a licensed contractor since it involves the gas valve.