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Austin Furnace Repair
Why Austin Furnaces Fail the Night Everyone Needs Them
A furnace in Austin spends most of the year as a blower cabinet for the air conditioner. It sits in a 130-degree attic all summer, collects dust, and then gets asked to light on a November evening when a front drops the temperature into the 30s. That is when the flame sensor that was coated in July refuses to prove a flame, the igniter that was cracking all summer finally breaks, and the pressure switch hose that dried out in the heat will not hold vacuum. The calls all come in the same night because the cold arrives for everyone at once.
We see different furnaces in different parts of town. Central Austin, in Crestview, Allandale and Hyde Park, has gas furnaces in hall closets, some of them very old. The subdivisions in Round Rock, Pflugerville, Cedar Park and Buda have attic gas furnaces from the 1990s and 2000s paired with the original AC. Newer homes in Leander, Kyle and Hutto are often electric, with a heat pump and strip heat in the air handler. Hill Country homes past Dripping Springs may run on propane. We repair all of them and have since 1999.
For the general explanation of furnace repair, parts and what a service call covers, see our furnace repair page.
- Licensed for gas and electric Austin HVAC license TACLB138285E and plumbing license M-42438 for gas line work.
- Same price at midnight No surprise fees on nights, weekends or holidays, including freeze nights.
- Repair-or-replace, honestly We will tell you when a repair makes more sense than a new furnace, and when it does not.
What to Watch For
How an Austin Furnace Tells You It Is in Trouble
The first cold front of the season is a stress test. These are what it usually reveals.
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Clicks, but never lights
The igniter is trying and failing. Usually a failed hot-surface igniter or a gas valve that is not opening. A common first-freeze call.
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Lights, then shuts off in seconds
A dirty flame sensor after a summer of attic dust. Small part, easy fix, and the single most common furnace repair in Austin.
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Blower runs, but the air is cold
The burners are not firing. Could be the igniter, a safety switch, a tripped limit or, on electric furnaces, a failed heat strip or sequencer.
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A boom when it ignites
Delayed ignition. Gas pools before it lights. Shut it off and call; it can crack the heat exchanger.
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The CO detector goes off
Leave the house and call the gas utility, then us. A cracked heat exchanger or blocked flue on an old attic furnace is the usual cause.
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The house never reaches the set temperature
Weak burners, a clogged filter or leaking attic ducts losing heat before it reaches the rooms. Common in older, larger Austin homes.
What We Repair
Furnace Repairs Across the Austin Area
Natural gas, propane and electric furnaces in closets, attics and garages, from Georgetown to Kyle.
- Igniters and flame sensors The two parts behind most no-heat calls in Austin. Cleaned or replaced from stock on the truck.
- Gas valves and pressure switches Diagnosed with a manometer, not a guess. Includes the flue and inducer motor that the pressure switch depends on.
- Blower motors and capacitors Shared with the AC, so a blower that limped through August often quits in December.
- Limit switches and safeties A furnace that trips its high limit is usually starved for airflow. We fix the cause, not just the switch.
- Control boards and thermostats Boards cooked by attic heat and thermostats wired wrong for the equipment.
- Heat exchanger inspection On older gas furnaces, this is the safety check that matters most. A cracked exchanger means replacement, and we will show you why.
How It Works
What Happens When You Call About a Furnace
The same process at noon in November or at 1 a.m. during a January freeze.
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Tell us what it is doing
Clicking, cold air, short cycling, a smell. It helps us bring the right parts. If you smell gas, leave first and call from outside.
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Safety inspection, then diagnosis
Heat exchanger, combustion, venting and gas pressure on gas units. Then the sequence of operation to find what stopped it.
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A written price you approve
Honored for 72 hours, no hidden fees. If the furnace should be replaced instead, you get that price too.
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Repair, test, done
We run a complete heating cycle and check for CO before we leave. The work is backed by the Home Comfort Guarantee.
Current Specials
Save on the work your home needs most.
Furnace Out in Austin?
Freeze nights are our busiest. Call early, and know the price before we start.
What Our Customers Say
Don't just take our word for it — hear from our satisfied customers
★★★★★
Our 18 year old HVAC system finally gave out this past week, so we reached out to Radiant to see what could be done. They sent a tech out named Bryan the same day, and he did a great job looking over the entire HVAC system. He was friendly and helpful in explaining everything that he saw, and our options moving forward. We decided to replace the entire system, so we met with Jacob (same day thankfully) to find the best HVAC system for our needs. Jacob was friendly, professional, and did a great job explaining the different options on offer. Radiant was able to set-up next day install, which was much appreciated, because the temps were still going to be cold in the coming days.
The install team consisted of Carlos and Pablo, who were very courteous and professional, and were kind enough to answer any questions I had regarding the install. They did a great job installing our new HVAC system, and were tidy which is always appreciated! Before they left, they explained everything that had been done, and showed me photos of the work.
Our entire experience from start to finish was great. I appreciate that they send photos of who is coming to your home too. Friendly, kind, professional team members, and good work all the way around. Thanks Radiant!
The install team consisted of Carlos and Pablo, who were very courteous and professional, and were kind enough to answer any questions I had regarding the install. They did a great job installing our new HVAC system, and were tidy which is always appreciated! Before they left, they explained everything that had been done, and showed me photos of the work.
Our entire experience from start to finish was great. I appreciate that they send photos of who is coming to your home too. Friendly, kind, professional team members, and good work all the way around. Thanks Radiant!
★★★★★
This is the first time I’ve used radiant my neighbor recommended them…. I called them today and they set me up an appointment on the same day. I was totally shocked at that and the service call was only $39!!…. Highly recommend them Danielle showed up and he was a great guy and he put up with all my wishy-washiness and I had to hurry him because I was heading to church and he got caught in a lot of traffic getting here he even would’ve installed the part that broke but I Didn’t have the time tonight….. He was patient with me and just told me to call the office first thing in the morning and get a service call set up…. Thank you so much Radiant!!….
With another cold front coming in tomorrow now I just hope they can get me scheduled for a separate call tomorrow but I have a feeling they will. They are such a great company!!😊😊
With another cold front coming in tomorrow now I just hope they can get me scheduled for a separate call tomorrow but I have a feeling they will. They are such a great company!!😊😊
★★★★★
My unit had been acting funky for a bit and then decided it would shed its mortal coil and go to the next life. I called an another company lets call them company A since I had a warranty with them thinking I could save a few bucks. They showed up 2 hours late of given window. Warranty didnt cover any of the perceived issues ( not really their fault, maybe). Double billed me (why pay 700 for a service call when you can pay 1400!!! ie: they ran my card twice) and then even though issue still wasnt fixed wanted to upsell me some more for close to 3k or get another sweet unit for an overpriced amount.
I'll admit I was getting desperate. Do I let the giant commercial bad guys win? Give them all my money I could be using on fishing gear? My neighbor happens to work at Schmidt Mechanical Group (shout out to Jared) and got me in touch with their service technicians for a 2nd opinion. ENTER Richard Moreno. Showed up at the beginning of time window. Diagnosed the multiple issues in a timely manner. Explained to me what was going on and why and hand held me through what needed to be done now and what to expect in the future. Worked on both of my units. My bill came to a FRACTION of what was recommended by company A. Mr. Moreno was very professional, kind, and honest. As a first time home owner whos been bamboozled by companies like company A, Schmidt Mechanical Group just gained a customer for life. Look forward to doing more business with them and their techs are awesome. Dont be like me and use company A first. Use this company.
I'll admit I was getting desperate. Do I let the giant commercial bad guys win? Give them all my money I could be using on fishing gear? My neighbor happens to work at Schmidt Mechanical Group (shout out to Jared) and got me in touch with their service technicians for a 2nd opinion. ENTER Richard Moreno. Showed up at the beginning of time window. Diagnosed the multiple issues in a timely manner. Explained to me what was going on and why and hand held me through what needed to be done now and what to expect in the future. Worked on both of my units. My bill came to a FRACTION of what was recommended by company A. Mr. Moreno was very professional, kind, and honest. As a first time home owner whos been bamboozled by companies like company A, Schmidt Mechanical Group just gained a customer for life. Look forward to doing more business with them and their techs are awesome. Dont be like me and use company A first. Use this company.
Maintenance Membership
Join the Care Club
Home maintenance for $9.99 a month.
Care Club members get two HVAC tune-ups and a plumbing safety inspection every year, priority scheduling, no dispatch fees — ever — and 5% off every repair.
- Priority scheduling
- Seasonal HVAC tune-ups
- Annual safety inspection
- Exclusive member discounts
- Free dispatch on repairs
- No long-term contracts
Austin Furnace Repair Questions
My furnace smells like something burning the first time I turn it on. Is that dangerous?
Usually not. After an Austin summer, an attic furnace has a coat of dust on the heat exchanger and burners, and the first heating cycle burns it off with a dry, dusty smell that should clear within a short while. What is not normal: a smell that persists into the second or third cycle, a sharp electrical or plastic odor, or anything like rotten eggs, which is the odorant added to natural gas. For an electrical smell, shut the furnace off at the thermostat and call us. For a gas smell, leave the house, call the gas utility from outside, then call us. A fall tune-up cleans the dust before the first cycle and avoids the question entirely.
Why does my furnace only fail during a freeze?
Because that is the only time it runs hard. On a mild Austin night, a furnace cycles briefly and a marginal part, a weak igniter or a slightly dirty flame sensor, gets by. During a freeze it runs almost continuously, the attic gets cold enough to matter, and any part that was borderline finally fails. It is the same reason air conditioners quit in July. The fix is to test the system under load before the freeze arrives, which is what a fall tune-up through Care Club does, and to call at the first short cycle or odd noise instead of waiting for the no-heat night.
Should I replace my old attic furnace with a heat pump?
It depends on the house and the AC. If your air conditioner is also near the end of its life, replacing the pair with a heat pump system is worth pricing: one outdoor unit handles both seasons, and Austin winters are mild enough that a heat pump heats efficiently most of the time. If the AC is newer, repairing or replacing the furnace alone is usually the better use of money. If you have gas service and like the hot supply air a furnace produces, a new gas furnace is a fine choice. We will quote the options side by side. Our Austin heat pumps page has more on how they perform here.
Do you repair furnaces in older central Austin homes with original gas equipment?
Yes, and we do a lot of it in Crestview, Allandale, Hyde Park, Tarrytown and the other neighborhoods where hall-closet gas furnaces have outlived several owners. The first thing we do on an old furnace is a heat exchanger and combustion inspection, because that is where age becomes a safety issue rather than just an inconvenience. If the exchanger is sound, most repairs are straightforward and parts are often still available. If it is cracked, the furnace has to be replaced, and we will show you what we found rather than ask you to take our word for it. Gas line work is covered under our plumbing license, M-42438, so the whole job stays with one company.
*Offers cannot be combined with other promotions or applied to dispatch fees. No cash value. Must present offer at time of service. Call for details.
