Furnace Repair in Lancaster, PA
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lancaster County will get in touch.
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Seven months of Lancaster County winter wears a furnace down
From October through April your furnace is the only thing standing between your house and the cold outside. On nights that average 24°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch, and every one of those starts puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that control the burner.
Lancaster County has seen 16 winter storms and 215 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. In Pennsylvania, 15% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. When the power comes back, most furnaces restart on their own, but if something was already close to failing, that restart is what finishes it off. That's often when a homeowner notices the house isn't warming up the way it should.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 24°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 16 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Pennsylvania requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the Bureau of Consumer Protection and nothing more. Nobody tested this contractor on furnace repair to get that number, and the state does not track how the work turns out. Pennsylvania also does not let Lancaster County or any city add its own HVAC license on top of that, so this registration is the only state record that exists for the person working on your furnace.
A furnace repair means a technician handling a gas line and a burner assembly, and that connection is the part that matters most. The registration says nothing about who is qualified to touch it. Pennsylvania's rule starts and ends with a business being on file.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most likely the thermostat is not calling for heat, or power to the furnace is interrupted. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room level, and check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. A closed gas valve or a tripped safety switch on the door panel will also stop it from starting. If those all check out, a contractor can test the ignition system and the control board.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The blower is likely running before the burners have caught, or the burners aren't lighting at all. A furnace blows a few seconds of cool air on startup while the heat exchanger warms up, which is normal. If the air stays cold, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing, or the gas supply may be cut off. A dirty filter can also make the air feel cooler than it should by cutting down airflow across the heat exchanger.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A weak or dirty thermocouple is the most common reason a pilot won't stay lit. The thermocouple senses the pilot flame and holds the gas valve open. If it's coated in soot or positioned wrong, it reads the flame as out and shuts the gas off. A draft near the pilot or a failing gas valve can cause the same problem, so if relighting it doesn't hold, it's worth having a contractor check it rather than repeating the attempt.