What are the most common heating repairs?

I have been an HVAC technician and licensed Electrician for 20 years.  My career has centered on residential HVAC and electrical service work in the Morris County New Jersey area.     

When people call Comfort Specialists because their homes furnace has stopped working, they often wonder why they find themselves in this situation.  Typically, most problems I see are related to lack of maintenance or improper install and design.   The good news is both issues can normally be remedied.  Of the problems that are not listed above, lets discuss the sort of run of the mill service calls homeowners will have to repair at some point.

Ignitors

Furnaces and boilers rely on an ignitor to, well, ignite the fuel.  Ignitors have a pretty short lifespan because of the harsh environment they live in.  I mean these things are literally on fire.   Good news is they are pretty inexpensive to repair.  Comfort Specialists always stock a variety of ignitors as an important aspect of our 24-7 service ability 

Flame Sensors

Flame sensors fail because they get dirty.  Like ignitors they operate in a harsh environment.    I have found it was always the best practice to install a new flame sensor as cleaning them is usually a short-term fix before they get dirty again.

Pressure Switches

Pressure switches have microswitches or air bladders that fail.  Over time, just like car tires, the rubber compounds of the bladders and hoses break down and dry rot.