Furnace Repair in Traverse City, MI
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Grand Traverse County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat puts real wear on a furnace here
Your furnace works from September through May in Traverse City, nine months out of the year. On winter nights that average 16°F, it is running long stretches to keep up, and the burner is cycling on and off for most of the day. That kind of use wears on the igniter and the flame sensor faster than a mild climate ever would.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the furnace stops, there is no backup source of warmth in the house. Grand Traverse County has seen 27 winter storms and 34 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power along with the heat. If your furnace will not restart once power comes back on, that is a sign worth checking before the next cold night.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 73%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 27 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $170 a year off heating for a typical Grand Traverse County home.
Estimates for a typical Grand Traverse 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 Board of Mechanical Rules issues that license, and it covers the contractor rather than any single job. That means the person or company doing the work has been tested and is on record with the state, though the license itself is tied to them and not to this particular furnace repair.
For a gas furnace, that license is what stands behind the work, since Michigan puts the accountability on the contractor's credential rather than a separate check for each repair. That matters most at the gas connection, where a bad seal or a wrong fitting is the real danger in this job. In Grand Traverse County, 72.7% of homes heat with gas, so this is the part of the rule that applies to most furnaces here.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- 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 for it. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be the problem, and that's a job for a contractor to open up and test.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Air blows before the burners light, so a little cool air at startup is normal. If it stays cold, the furnace may be running on fan only, so check that the thermostat is set to heat and not just fan. If it's set right and you're still getting cold air, the burners aren't lighting, which points to the igniter, the flame sensor, or the gas supply, and a contractor needs to check which one it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame and is shutting the gas valve as a safety measure. It can also happen if there's a draft near the pilot or a partial blockage in the pilot tube. A contractor can test the thermocouple and clean or adjust the pilot assembly to fix it.