Furnace, heat pump and air conditioning service in Norwood, ON

Go outside and look at the side wall. Newer Norwood homes, including those in Norwood Park, usually have a condensing furnace with two plastic pipes through the wall, and the water heater may vent the same way. Environment Canada's 1981-2010 normals for the Peterborough A station record 40.0 cm of snow in January and snow depths of up to 71 cm in March. A drift over either pipe trips a safety switch and the burner stays off. Clear snow and frost from both pipes by hand, then switch the furnace off and on again. If it still will not light, book a furnace repair.

Under Ontario Regulation 212/01, gas appliances must be installed, serviced and repaired by a registered gas contractor using gas technicians who hold a G1, G2 or G3 ticket. The installation follows the CSA B149.1 Natural Gas and Propane Installation Code. That covers furnaces, water heaters, gas fireplaces and propane units alike. Work is performed by TSSA-certified gas technicians. Before anyone opens the burner compartment in your basement, ask which ticket they hold. To book gas work, use the contact page.

The Ontario Fire Code requires a working carbon monoxide alarm next to each sleeping area in a home with a fuel-burning appliance, a fireplace or an attached garage. In Norwood that takes in most houses: a gas furnace or water heater, a wood stove in an older village home, or a garage built onto a newer one. Press the test button on each alarm and check the replacement date printed on the back. If an alarm sounds, get everyone outside and call the fire department from there. To have the furnace and its venting checked, book seasonal maintenance.

The Ontario Energy Board's list of municipal gas franchises names Enbridge as the gas utility for the Township of Asphodel-Norwood. The utility looks after the supply, the meter and the bill. Everything past the meter, meaning the furnace, the water heater and their venting, is work for a gas contractor. If your home heats with propane instead, the burner is set up differently, so the technician needs to know which fuel you have. Check your bill or the tank before you call, then see the service areas.

In newer Norwood Park homes the usual cause is the condensate drain. A condensing furnace makes water as it runs, and that water drains through a small plastic line. If the line runs along a cold outside wall or into a cold space, it can freeze or clog, the water backs up and a pressure switch shuts the burner off. Look for water pooled under the furnace, a gurgling sound or a line that feels frozen. Turn the furnace off rather than pulling the line apart, and book a furnace repair.

There is no useful average, because the fault sets the price. A dirty flame sensor or a tripped switch is a short visit. An igniter, a pressure switch or a control board adds parts. An inducer or blower motor is a bigger job, and a cracked heat exchanger usually points to replacement. On older furnaces, parts can be harder to find. The technician finds the fault first and writes the price down for you to approve before any part is fitted. Read what decides the price before you call.

Age alone does not decide it. In the 2016 Census, 235 of the 560 occupied private dwellings in the Norwood population centre were built in 1960 or before. Many of those started on wood or coal and now have an oversized replacement furnace on ducts added later. The technician checks the heat exchanger, the repair history, the ductwork and the chimney, which may need a liner if the water heater is left venting into it alone. Old duct wrap may contain asbestos and is not disturbed without testing. Ask for a repair price and a replacement price side by side on the replacement page.

In older Norwood houses the ducts were often added after the house was built. Runs to upstairs rooms are long, undersized or leaking at the joints, and an oversized furnace heats the basement fast and shuts off before those rooms warm up. Check that every register is open, that furniture is not covering the return grilles and that the filter is clean. The technician measures the airflow, seals the worst joints and looks at return air. Where ducts cannot reach a room, a ductless head can. See heat pumps for that option.