Furnace Repair in Anchorage, AK
If your furnace quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Anchorage Municipality will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Your furnace runs all year here, with no break to recover
In Anchorage the furnace doesn't get a season off. It runs 12 months a year, and on winter nights averaging 10°F it runs hard, cycling on and off for hours at a stretch. Every start puts load on the igniter and the burner assembly, and with no real off season, those parts never get a stretch of rest to make up for it.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the furnace stops, there's no backup warming the house while you wait. And with close to a fifth of Alaska households losing power for a full day or more in 2024, a furnace that won't restart on its own once the power comes back can leave a home cold longer than it should.
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 79%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
NOAA 1991–2020 monthly normals
A new furnace would cut about $220 a year off heating for a typical Anchorage Municipality home.
Estimates for a typical Anchorage Municipality home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Alaska 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.
Alaska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration means the business is on file with the state, nothing more. Alaska does not test furnace contractors or license them by trade, so registration tells you a business exists and can be traced, not that anyone checked its work.
In Anchorage Municipality, 78.7% of homes heat with gas, and a furnace repair usually means someone working on a gas connection. That is the part of the job where a mistake is dangerous. Alaska's registration was not built to catch that. It confirms a business is on record with the state, not that its gas work has been checked by anyone.
Source: Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set above room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, usually a light switch near the unit or at the top of the basement stairs, and the breaker at your panel. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor to check it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the blower without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem or a flame sensor that's shutting the burners off after a brief try. A dirty filter can also cause the furnace to overheat and shut the burners down while the blower keeps running. With winter lows around 10°F here, this isn't something to leave for long. Check the filter first, then have a contractor look at the ignition system if that doesn't fix it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is usually a sign the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame, so the gas valve shuts back off. Draft in the area, a dirty pilot orifice, or a bad thermocouple can all cause this. A standing pilot doesn't need power to run, so a power outage isn't the cause. If relighting it doesn't hold, the thermocouple likely needs to be adjusted or replaced by a contractor.