Furnace Repair in Kalamazoo, MI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Kalamazoo County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, most of it below freezing
Your furnace runs from October through May here, and on winter nights that average 19°F it does not get much rest. It cycles on and off for hours at a time to hold the house steady, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those finally gives out, the furnace either won't light or shuts down soon after it does.
Kalamazoo County has seen 15 winter storms and 34 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms here knock out power. Across Michigan, more than a third of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. Most gas furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the power goes, so does the heat, even with gas still flowing to the burner.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 73%
- 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 $140 a year off heating for a typical Kalamazoo County home.
Estimates for a typical Kalamazoo 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 issued to the contractor by the state's Board of Mechanical Rules, and it stays with that contractor across every job they take on, not just this one. The board is the record of who has met the state's requirement to hold that license, so the license names the person or company standing behind the work, not a stamp on this particular repair.
For a gas furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection itself, since a bad one is what turns a repair into a hazard. In Kalamazoo County, 72.9% of homes heat with gas, which is exactly the kind of job this license is meant to cover. The contractor's state license is what stands behind that work here.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and set a few degrees above room temperature, and check that its batteries are not dead. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and make sure it is on, then check the breaker. Many furnaces also stop for a clogged filter or a condensate line that has backed up and tripped a safety switch. If none of that gets it running, the igniter or a control board may have failed, and that calls for a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is blowing but never warms up, the burners may not be lighting even though the blower runs. That points to a bad igniter, a dirty flame sensor, or a gas supply problem. It can also happen right when the furnace starts, since the blower can kick on a few seconds before the burners heat the air. If cold air keeps coming the whole time it runs, or you smell gas, shut the furnace off and have a licensed contractor take a look, especially with lows here averaging 19°F in the winter.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that will not stay lit is usually a sign the thermocouple has worn out. That is the small sensor that sits in the flame and tells the gas valve it is safe to stay open. Drafts near the furnace or a dirty pilot orifice can also blow the flame out or keep it from burning right. Since most newer furnaces do not use a standing pilot at all, if yours does, it is worth having a licensed contractor check the thermocouple and clean the assembly before the cold months set in.