Furnace Repair in Billings, MT
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Yellowstone County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, and nights near 16 degrees
Your furnace works from September through May in Yellowstone County. That is nine months a year it has to start reliably, and on winter nights that average 16°F, it runs long and hard to keep up. Every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit, and a furnace running this much wears those parts faster than one that only kicks on now and then.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the furnace stops working there is no backup pulling the load. The county has also seen 17 winter storms and 154 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in a bad outage the furnace does not restart on its own until power comes back. If yours is not lighting, not blowing warm air, or shutting off partway through a cycle, that is worth having looked at before the next cold night.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 68%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 17 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $80 a year off heating for a typical Yellowstone County home.
Estimates for a typical Yellowstone County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Montana 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.
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
This is a contractor license, not a job by job approval. The Department of Labor and Industry tested this contractor and keeps a record of them, and that record follows the business from one job to the next rather than getting issued fresh each time someone hires them. Work under $2,500 falls outside that requirement, so a small repair can legally be done without a licensed contractor behind it.
A furnace repair is gas work, and gas is the part of the job where a loose fitting or a bad connection is dangerous rather than just inconvenient. Above that $2,500 line, the license is what stands behind the person doing that work, tested and on record with the state. Most homes in Yellowstone County heat with gas, which is exactly the kind of job this license was built to cover.
Source: Montana 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 uses them. Look at the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, since that shuts the furnace off for service and gets left off by mistake. If the filter is badly clogged, some furnaces will shut down rather than overheat. When none of that explains it, the igniter, the control board, or a pressure switch may be at fault, and that calls for a contractor to test it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- A furnace blows cold air for a few seconds when it first starts, while it clears cool air out of the ducts before the burner catches up. If cold air keeps coming the whole time it runs, the burner may not be lighting even though the blower is. A dirty flame sensor is a common reason for that, since it tells the control board to shut off the gas rather than let it run unlit. If the blower runs constantly on cold air with the thermostat fan set to auto, check that setting first, since that alone will do it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer hold the gas valve open once you let go. A draft blowing across the pilot, or a dirty pilot orifice, can also put it out. If the flame is lit but looks thin or yellow instead of a strong blue, that points to a dirty burner or bad airflow rather than the thermocouple. A furnace with a pilot that won't hold is a gas safety issue, so it needs a contractor to look at rather than repeated relighting.