Edmonton Furnace Questions, Answered Straight.

Start with the simple things. Make sure the thermostat is set to Heat, not Fan On, and a few degrees above room temperature. Look at the filter; a clogged one can make the furnace overheat and trip its limit switch, so the burners shut off while the blower keeps running. Then go outside and check that the two PVC pipes on the side wall are clear of snow and frost. If it still blows cold, count the LED blinks through the sight glass on the blower door and include the count in your request. Do not open the burner compartment or reset any safety switch.

In an Edmonton January the cause is usually outside, not inside. A high-efficiency furnace draws air in and pushes exhaust out through PVC pipes in the side wall, and drifting snow or frost from the exhaust plume can block them. The pressure switch then sees no draft and the furnace locks out. The other common cause is a frozen condensate line or trap, often where the line runs near a cold wall. Clear the pipes by hand and look at the condensate line for ice, but do not cut it. If it keeps happening, the vent termination or line routing needs a proper fix.

Yes. No-heat calls get priority, and we confirm the arrival window when we reply to your request. An after-hours, weekend or holiday no-heat call typically costs $199 to $349 for the visit in Edmonton, compared with $129 to $199 during regular hours; your price is confirmed in writing before any work starts. Before you book, spend five minutes on the basic checks: thermostat batteries and mode, the furnace power switch and breaker, the filter, and the PVC pipes outside. A fair share of night calls turn out to be one of those, and fixing it yourself saves the after-hours rate.

It depends on the part. Typical Edmonton ranges for 2026: flame sensor clean or replace $129 to $299, hot surface igniter $225 to $450, pressure switch $275 to $550, blower capacitor $175 to $350, control board $500 to $1,200, gas valve $550 to $1,100, inducer motor $650 to $1,400, PSC blower motor $600 to $1,200, and ECM blower motor or module $900 to $2,000. Those include the part and the labour to fit it. Your price is confirmed in writing before any work starts, so you can decide whether the repair makes sense for the age of your furnace.

A regular-hours diagnostic visit in Edmonton typically runs $129 to $199, and an after-hours, weekend or holiday no-heat call $199 to $349. For that, a technician finds out why the furnace is not heating, checks the safety controls, and tells you what failed, what the repair costs and whether it is worth doing on a furnace of that age. The repair price is given in writing before any work starts. If the fix turns out to be a tripped breaker or a blocked vent, you have paid for the visit, which is why the free checks at home are worth doing first.

For a straight swap to a single-stage 95 to 96% AFUE high-efficiency furnace, installed, the typical Edmonton range is $4,800 to $7,500. Two-stage or modulating furnaces at 96 to 98% AFUE run $6,500 to $11,000. Older homes moving from chimney venting often add $400 to $1,500 for a chimney liner or re-venting the hot water tank. These are typical Edmonton ranges for 2026, before GST, and your price is confirmed in writing before any work starts. Written quotes for replacements are free. Warranty terms come from the manufacturer and the installing contractor's written quote, so read that part carefully.

Look at age, the part, and the heat exchanger. A furnace under about 15 years old with a sound heat exchanger and a failed igniter, flame sensor or pressure switch should almost always be repaired; a $300 igniter on a 12-year-old furnace is money well spent. Replacement makes sense when the heat exchanger is cracked, when the furnace is past 20 years, or when it needs its second or third major part in a couple of seasons. Furnaces typically last 15 to 20 years, less if they were oversized or never maintained. A good technician will tell you when one more repair is the better call.

In many Edmonton homes built from the 1950s to the 1980s, the furnace and the gas hot water tank share one chimney. A new high-efficiency furnace vents through PVC in the side wall instead, which leaves the tank alone in a chimney that is now too large for it. It may not draft properly, and exhaust can spill back into the house. The fix is a chimney liner, a power-vent tank or re-venting the tank, typically $400 to $1,500 in Edmonton, confirmed in writing before any work starts. It is a standard line on replacements in older homes, not an upsell.

Yes. Replacing a furnace or a hot water tank requires a gas permit, pulled by the contractor through the City of Edmonton, or through the surrounding municipality or its accredited agency if you live in St. Albert, Sherwood Park, Spruce Grove, Leduc or another community outside the city. An inspection follows. New ductwork may also need a mechanical permit, and an AC or heat pump install usually needs electrical work under a permit. The contractor pulls the permits the job needs. If a quote does not mention the gas permit, ask about it before you sign.

Once a year, ideally in late summer or early fall before the heating season starts. An Edmonton furnace runs from roughly late September to May, far more hours than one in Vancouver or Toronto, and the parts that fail in January often show wear months earlier. A tune-up typically costs $129 to $219 and covers cleaning the flame sensor and burners, checking the igniter, inducer, pressure switch and blower, testing safety controls, clearing the condensate trap and checking the venting. For an older furnace, a safety inspection with a combustion and CO test, typically $149 to $249, is worth adding. Prices are confirmed in writing first.

Check it every month during the heating season and change it when it looks grey or dusty. Thin one-inch filters usually need changing more often than thicker media filters, and homes with pets, renovations or wildfire smoke in the air go through them faster. A clogged filter is one of the most common reasons an Edmonton furnace overheats, trips its limit switch and starts blowing cold air. It also makes the blower work harder and shortens its life. Write the date on the filter frame when you put a new one in, and keep a spare on hand for January.

It happens a lot in newer Edmonton homes, which are built tight and rely on a heat recovery ventilator for fresh air. In a deep cold snap the core can ice up, especially if the filters and core are dirty or the unit is out of balance. Check that the outside hoods are clear of snow and frost and that the filters are clean. If it keeps freezing, it needs a service: core cleaning, new filters and a balance check typically run $129 to $229 in Edmonton, confirmed in writing before any work starts. Once a year keeps most HRVs out of trouble.

If you smell rotten eggs, leave the house now with everyone in it. Do not touch light switches, the thermostat or the furnace, and do not use a phone inside, because any of them can make a spark. Once you are outside and away from the house, call ATCO Gas's 24-hour emergency line or 911. Do not go back in until you are told it is safe. A heating contractor comes after the gas utility or the fire department has made the house safe, not before. Do not try to find the leak yourself.

Get everyone out of the house, including pets, and call 911 from outside. Do the same if people in the house have headaches, nausea or dizziness that ease when they step outside, even if no alarm is sounding. Do not go back in to open windows or switch off the furnace. Once the house has been cleared, a furnace safety inspection with a combustion and CO test will find the source, which is often a blocked vent, a cracked heat exchanger or a water heater that is not drafting. Keep CO alarms near sleeping areas and replace them by the end-of-life date printed on them.

The heat exchanger is the metal chamber that keeps the flame and exhaust separate from the air blown through your house. Years of heating and cooling can crack it, sooner on furnaces that were oversized, short-cycled or never maintained. A crack can let combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, into the airflow. It is found during an inspection with a camera and a combustion test, typically $149 to $249 in Edmonton. On most furnaces a cracked heat exchanger means replacement, not repair. If one is found, the furnace should not be run, and you should have working CO alarms in the house.

Cold-climate air-source heat pumps keep producing heat well below -20°C, but their capacity and efficiency fall as it gets colder. That is why most Edmonton installs are hybrid, or dual-fuel: the heat pump carries the heating through fall, spring and milder winter days, and the gas furnace takes over in the deep cold. You also get air conditioning in summer. A ducted cold-climate heat pump paired with an existing furnace typically runs $9,000 to $18,000 in Edmonton, confirmed in writing before any work starts. Rebate and financing programs open and close, so check what is open at the time you buy.

Central AC installed on an existing furnace and ductwork typically runs $4,800 to $8,500 in Edmonton. It uses the furnace blower and ducts, and the outdoor condenser sits on a pad or wall bracket with clearances from windows, the property line and the gas meter. In older homes, check the return air before sizing, because many had AC added on returns too small for it. If you are replacing both furnace and AC soon, price a heat pump as well. A ductless mini-split, typically $4,000 to $7,500 for one zone, suits homes without ducts. Prices are confirmed in writing first.

A tank leaking from the bottom or the body is finished and needs replacing. A tank that will not light or heat because of a thermocouple, thermopile, gas valve, anode or T&P valve can often be repaired, typically $175 to $700 in Edmonton. Replacing a 40 to 50 gallon gas tank with atmospheric venting runs $1,900 to $3,200, a power-vented tank $2,900 to $4,500, and a tankless water heater $4,000 to $7,500. Edmonton water is moderately hard, so sediment builds up; flushing yearly helps. Replacements need a gas permit, and prices are confirmed in writing before any work starts.

No. Since 1 March 2019, Alberta has banned door-to-door sales of energy-related home products, including furnaces, air conditioners and hot water tanks. Anyone knocking on your door to sell one is breaking the rule, whatever they say about inspections, the utility or a government program. Do not let them into the house and do not sign anything. If you think your furnace needs work, contact a heating company yourself, ask for a written quote that names the equipment, the gas permit and the price, and compare it with one or two others.

Gas work in Alberta is done by a certified gasfitter, or an apprentice working under one, and refrigerant work on air conditioners and heat pumps by a certified refrigeration and air conditioning mechanic. Both are compulsory trades. A furnace replacement also needs a gas permit that the contractor pulls, followed by an inspection. When you hire, ask who will do the work, whether the gas permit is included, and what the written quote covers. A contractor who suggests skipping the permit is also skipping the inspection that checks the work, so walk away.