Furnace Repair in Wenatchee, WA
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Chelan County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat puts real hours on a furnace
Wenatchee needs a working furnace from September through June. That is ten months of the year the burner is lighting, running, and shutting off again, night after night, and on winter nights that average 22°F it is working hard to keep up.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the furnace stops with it. Chelan County sees its share of winter storms and wind, and when the power comes back the furnace has to start clean. An igniter or a control board that was already worn is what gives out first, and that is when the house goes cold.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 22°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 118 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with L&I and requires a bond and insurance, but nobody tests the contractor on furnace work to get it. It's a record that the business exists and meets the state's financial requirements, not proof of trade skill.
For a furnace repair, the part that matters most is the gas connection, and Washington's registration doesn't touch anyone's gas work. What the registration guarantees is that the business is bonded and insured, so there's a financial backstop if the work goes wrong. Beyond that, the state's rule stops where the trade knowledge would need to start.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat, a safety switch has tripped, or power isn't reaching the unit. Check that the thermostat is set above room temperature and has working batteries if it takes them. Furnaces also have a door switch on the blower compartment, and if that door isn't seated right the furnace won't fire at all. If the breaker or switch is fine and it still won't start, the igniter or control board may have failed, and a contractor can test which one it is.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the blower without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem, a clogged filter causing it to overheat and shut down the burners, or a flame sensor that's telling the system to stop mid-cycle. A dirty filter is the easiest to check yourself. If the filter looks fine and the air still isn't heating, a contractor will need to look at ignition and flame sensing.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the flame sensor or thermocouple isn't reading the flame, so the gas valve shuts back off to protect against a leak. It can also mean a draft is blowing the pilot out, or the pilot orifice is dirty and the flame is too weak to hold. Cleaning fixes it sometimes, but if it keeps happening, the sensor or thermocouple likely needs to be replaced. Many newer furnaces don't use a standing pilot at all and rely on an electronic igniter instead, so how this gets fixed depends on which kind of furnace is in the house.