Furnace Repair in Bozeman, MT
Furnaces here run from September through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Gallatin County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Your furnace works ten months a year here
Homes in Gallatin County need heat from September through June. On the nights that average 13°F from December through February, the burner is lighting and shutting off many times a day to keep up. Each start puts load on the igniter, and ten months of that wears the part down faster than a short season would.
Gallatin County has also logged 124 winter storms and 77 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind and ice bring down power lines, and statewide, 18% of Montana households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A furnace without power will not run, and most units come back on by themselves once power is restored. If yours does not, the problem is in the furnace, not the outage.
- 10 months
- September through June, your furnace is on duty
- 13°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 55%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 124 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $100 a year off heating for a typical Gallatin County home.
Estimates for a typical Gallatin 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.
The state tested this contractor and keeps a record of the license before any work starts. That license belongs to the contractor, not to this one job, so it carries over from the last furnace they worked on to yours. Montana does carve out an exception. Work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor, so a small repair may fall outside that requirement depending on what it ends up costing.
A furnace repair means someone is working around a gas connection, and that is the part of the job where a mistake actually hurts someone. In Montana, that risk falls under the same license, since a licensed contractor is the one the state holds accountable for the work, not a separate inspection layered on top. In Gallatin County, 55.2% of homes heat with gas.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it comes down to the thermostat, the power supply, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is actually above room temperature, since a dead thermostat battery can leave the display looking normal but sending no signal. Check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch and is often mounted right on or near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, which is a common part to wear out and one a licensed contractor can test and replace.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it is not warm, the burners likely are not lighting even though the blower is running. That can mean a clogged filter is starving the burners of air, a flame sensor that is not detecting the flame and shutting gas off as a safety measure, or a gas supply issue. It can also mean the thermostat fan setting is on instead of auto, which runs the blower continuously whether or not the furnace is heating. With lows averaging 13°F here in the winter, a furnace that is not actually heating needs attention quickly, and a contractor can find which of these it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually points to the thermocouple, a small sensor that shuts off gas flow if it does not sense the pilot flame is burning. If the thermocouple is dirty, bent away from the flame, or worn out, it reads the pilot as out even when it is lit and cuts the gas. A draft blowing across the pilot can also cause this, so check that vents and windows nearby are not creating airflow toward the burner compartment. A licensed contractor can clean or replace the thermocouple, which is a straightforward fix on most older furnaces still running a standing pilot.