Furnace Repair in Troy, NY
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Rensselaer County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat put real wear on a furnace
Troy needs a working furnace from October through May. On winter nights averaging 17°F, the burner is firing over and over to keep up, and every start is a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that control it. That is usually where a furnace gives out first, and the house starts running cool or won't heat at all.
Rensselaer County has seen 38 winter storms and 301 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and across New York, 11% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. A furnace needs electricity to run its blower and controls, so an outage means no heat until power is back, right when the cold is worst.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 38 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $180 a year off heating for a typical Rensselaer County home.
Estimates for a typical Rensselaer County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New York 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.
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat is not sending a signal the furnace can act on, or a safety switch has shut it down. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check the furnace switch and breaker. A clogged filter can trigger a high-limit switch and stop the furnace from starting, so a dirty filter is worth ruling out before anything else. If power, thermostat and filter all check out, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace likely needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- When a furnace runs but the air is cold, it usually has not fully started or has shut off partway through its cycle. A dirty filter can starve the burner of airflow and cause it to shut down while the blower keeps running, which feels like cold air. A pilot or igniter that will not hold flame will do the same thing, heat calls for but never arrives. If the filter is clean and the air stays cold, the ignition system needs a contractor's attention.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is almost always the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is real. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when there is one, and the valve shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so check that vents and the area around the furnace are clear. If relighting it keeps ending the same way, the thermocouple needs to be replaced by a contractor, since homes here rely on that furnace from October through May.