Furnace Repair in Grand Rapids, MI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Kent County will get in touch.
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Eight months of Grand Rapids winter wears a furnace down
Your furnace has to work from October through May here, eight months of the year. On winter nights that average 19°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Every one of those cycles puts a load on the igniter and the burner, and over a long winter that adds up.
Most furnaces in Grand Rapids run on gas, so when something goes wrong it usually shows up as a furnace that won't light, or one that lights and then shuts off before the house warms up. Kent County also sees real storms, 15 winter storms and 56 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and a furnace that loses power and comes back on can turn up a weak igniter or a failing control board that was already close to done.
- 8 months
- October 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
- 15 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $150 a year off heating for a typical Kent County home.
Estimates for a typical Kent 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 state issues this license through the Board of Mechanical Rules, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any one job. That means the person or company doing your repair carries the license, and it stays with them from one house to the next, not something renewed or reissued for your furnace specifically.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the gas connections and wiring involved in the work. Most homes in Kent County heat with gas, so a bad connection here is not a small thing, and the same license that qualifies a contractor to work on your furnace is the one accountable if that connection is done wrong.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it comes down to the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the pilot or igniter not doing its job. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, and that its batteries are not dead. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for the furnace. If those are fine, the igniter or flame sensor may have failed, and that needs a contractor to test and replace.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If the air from your vents is cold, the burners are not lighting even though the blower is running. A dirty flame sensor is a common cause, since it shuts the gas off as a safety measure when it cannot detect a flame. A clogged filter can also starve the burners of airflow and trip the system's limit switch. Either way, this is a gas appliance issue and worth having a contractor look at rather than resetting it yourself.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that keeps going out is almost always a sign of a weak or failing thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is lit. When it wears out, it reads the flame as out and shuts the gas off even though the pilot is burning. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so check for anything nearby that might be moving air. If relighting it does not hold, the thermocouple needs to be replaced by a contractor.