Furnace Repair in Tacoma, WA
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Pierce County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat wears a furnace down
Your furnace works from September through June here. That is ten months a year it has to be ready, with only a couple months off in summer. Winter nights average 31°F, so on the coldest stretches the burner is cycling on and off most of the day and night to keep up.
Most homes in this area heat with electricity. That means the furnace depends on power staying on to run at all, and when it doesn't, the furnace shuts down completely until power is back. With that much runtime and that many start cycles over the winter, the igniter and the parts that control the burner tend to fail first. You notice it the same way every time. The furnace stops putting out heat and the house starts to cool down.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 31°F
- the average winter night it heats against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
Registration puts the business on file with Labor and Industries. It requires bond and insurance, but there is no trade exam behind it, and no state record of anyone passing one in furnace repair.
So the protection here is not a license checking the work, because Washington does not issue one for this trade. What matters most in a furnace repair is the gas connection, and registration does not test or inspect that. It only confirms the business is on file and carries the required bond and insurance.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way you think it is, 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, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for it. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch may be keeping the furnace from starting, and that calls for a contractor to check it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the burners likely aren't lighting even though the blower is running. That can mean a bad igniter, a closed gas valve, or a dirty flame sensor telling the furnace to shut the burners off. A clogged filter can also cause short bursts of cool air between heating cycles. If the thermostat fan is set to "on" instead of "auto", the blower runs constantly and pushes air even when the burners are off, which feels like cold air blowing all the time.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame, so the gas valve shuts back off. A draft near the pilot can also blow it out repeatedly. If you relight it and it goes out again within a minute or two, the thermocouple is the likely cause and it needs to be replaced by a contractor. Many furnaces built in the last couple of decades don't use a standing pilot at all, so if yours does, it's worth having a contractor look at the whole ignition system while they're there.