What goes wrong with residential heating?
- No heat at all. Often ignition, a control board, a safety switch that has opened, or a thermostat not sending the call.
- Heat that starts then stops. Frequently flame sensing on a furnace, or a limit switch opening because airflow is restricted.
- Cool air from the vents. On a furnace this usually means it is not igniting or not staying lit. On a heat pump it may be a normal defrost cycle, or a charge or reversing valve problem.
- Short cycling. The system starts and stops repeatedly, which is usually a symptom rather than a fault in itself.
- Noise. A new noise is worth investigating early, because bearings and motors tend to announce themselves before they fail.
Is it a furnace or a heat pump?
The two fail differently and are worth separating. See furnace repair for gas furnace specifics, and heat pump repair where one system handles heating and cooling.
What do you not work on?
No boilers, no radiant heat, no geothermal. If that is what heats your home, we are not the right call.
Safety
If you smell gas, leave and call your gas utility from outside. That is not a service call, it is an emergency, and it comes before anything on this page.
What will this cost?
A $139 diagnostic visit, waived when you book the repair. The repair itself is quoted before we start, and the quoted number is what appears on the invoice for that work.
Repair or replace: how we weigh it
| What we look at | Points toward repair | Points toward replacement |
|---|---|---|
| What failed | A wear item such as a capacitor, contactor or fan motor | Compressor, leaking evaporator coil or cracked heat exchanger |
| Repair history | First real fault the system has had | Repairs stacking up across recent seasons |
| Condition of the rest | Remaining equipment looks sound | Several components visibly tired |
| Cost comparison | Repair sits well below replacement cost | Repair approaches a meaningful share of replacement |
| Comfort history | System kept the house comfortable until now | It never really kept up, which may be sizing or ductwork |
No formula decides this. We look at your equipment and explain what we find. See the repair or replace guide for the longer version.
Common questions
Why is my heater blowing cool air?
On a gas furnace it usually means it is not igniting or not staying lit. On a heat pump it can be a normal defrost cycle, or a sign of a charge or reversing valve issue.
What does heating repair cost?
A $139 diagnostic visit to start, waived when you book the repair. The repair is quoted before we begin.
My system keeps turning on and off. Is that serious?
Short cycling is usually a symptom of something else, such as restricted airflow or a control problem. It is worth looking at because it puts extra wear on the equipment.
Do you work on boilers?
No. We do not work on boilers, radiant heat or geothermal systems.
I smell gas. What should I do?
Leave the house and call your gas utility from outside. Treat it as an emergency, not a service call.
Reviewed and updated September 2026. Prices shown are owner supplied typical ranges, confirmed after an assessment. If anything here looks out of date, call (615) 400-4993 and tell us.