Furnace Repair in Fairbanks, AK
Furnaces here run from August through June. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Fairbanks North Star Borough will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
In Fairbanks your furnace runs from August through June, eleven months of the year. On the nights that average -10°F from December through February, it runs long and hard to keep up, and most homes here heat with fuel oil, so the burner, the igniter, and the oil pump all take that load together.
Power is the other piece. In Alaska, 21% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024, and the borough has logged eight winter storms over the past ten years. When the power drops on a night that cold, a furnace that won't restart on its own is not a small problem.
- 11 months
- August through June, your furnace is on duty
- -10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 8 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA 1991–2020 monthly normals
Alaska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state, its name, its address, who owns it. Nobody tested this contractor on how to work on a furnace to get that number. It is a record, not a credential.
Since Alaska does not license furnace repair, no state exam stands behind the work. A gas furnace has a gas connection, and that connection is the part that can hurt someone if it is done wrong. Alaska's rule does not cover that risk. It only puts the business on file.
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 the way it should, or the furnace isn't getting power. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it takes them. Check your breaker panel too, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. If power and thermostat both check out, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the burner likely isn't lighting even though the blower is running. A dirty flame sensor or a failing igniter will do this, since the furnace senses no flame and shuts off the gas while the fan keeps going. It can also mean the furnace is in the middle of its startup cycle and hasn't warmed up yet. If cold air keeps blowing past that point, have a contractor check it, especially with nights running around -10°F here.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame and is shutting off the gas as a safety measure. A draft near the pilot can also blow it out, so check for anything pulling air near the furnace. If it relights but goes out again within a minute or two, the thermocouple needs replacing. With heat needed here nearly year-round, it's worth getting this looked at rather than relighting it over and over.