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Furnace Repair & Installation in Durham, NC
Alternative Aire repairs and installs furnaces for homeowners throughout Durham. When your heat goes out, we look at the actual unit, tell you what's wrong in plain terms, and quote a price before any work starts. Our technicians are NATE certified, and we're licensed under NC H2 and H3-Class 1 #30223. That's not a marketing copy. It's who actually shows up at your door.
Furnace Repair and Installation Services
Furnace Repair Services
A furnace that won't start, blows cool air, or short cycles has a real, findable cause. Hot surface igniters, flame sensors, draft inducer motors, pressure switches, control boards, gas valves, we've seen it, and we carry the parts to fix most of it the same day.
Furnace Installation Services
We don't size a furnace off your old unit's nameplate. Every installation starts with a Manual J load calculation, so what goes into your house actually matches your house, not just the closest thing on the truck.
What Actually Happens During a Furnace Visit
We start by testing ignition, checking the flame sensor and inducer, and looking at your pressure switch, because that’s where most no-heat calls trace back to. Once we know what’s wrong, you get a flat rate estimate before we touch a single part, not an invoice that grows as the visit goes on. Most repairs get finished that same trip since our trucks carry the parts furnaces actually fail with, not just the common ones.
Before we leave, we run a safety check, combustion, limit operation, and a final temperature rise reading, and we leave you with documentation of what we found and what we did. If something’s under warranty, that paperwork matters later, so we don’t skip it.
Repair or Replace: How to Actually Decide
Most of the time, repair is the right call, and that’s genuinely our first move on every visit. Replacement starts making more sense when you’re looking at a cracked heat exchanger, you’ve had the same system break down more than once in a season, or your energy bills keep climbing on a furnace that’s clearly past its prime. If we get to that point, we won’t just tell you to replace it and walk away. You’ll get a written scope, a real timeline, and installation pricing, so you can weigh it against another repair with actual numbers in front of you.
How We Handle Every Furnace Call
1. You Tell Us What's Going On
Repair or install, we ask a few questions upfront so we're not starting from zero when we get there.
2.We Find the Real Answer
For a repair, that's testing ignition, sensors, and airflow instead of swapping parts and hoping. For an install, that's a Manual J calculation and a look at your ductwork and static pressure.
3. You See the Price First
Flat rate, explained in plain language. Nothing gets ordered or repaired until you say go.
4. Our Techs Do the Work
Not a subcontractor. NATE certified, on our payroll, accountable to us.
5. We Prove It Before We Leave
Flame proving, temperature rise, safety controls, thermostat setup, all checked, not assumed.
What Makes Alternative Aire Different
A furnace repair either fixes the actual problem or it doesn’t. There’s not much middle ground when it’s 28 degrees outside and your family needs heat tonight. We built our process around getting it right the first visit, not around sounding good in a sales pitch.
Truck-Stock Parts, Fewer Repeat Visits.
We carry parts for the failures we see most, so a repair usually gets finished the same trip.
Manual J on Every Install.
No eyeballing your old unit. No exceptions.
Licensed and NATE Certified.
NC H2 and H3-Class 1 #30223. Every technician wearing our logo, not a name found for the day.
17+ Years in Durham, BBB A+ Accredited.
Earned one job at a time, not bought.
Financing Your Furnace Repair or Installation
A furnace doesn’t care what else is due this month. If it’s a repair, you probably want it fixed today, not after you’ve moved money around to cover it. If it’s a full replacement, that’s real money, and not everyone has it sitting around. We offer financing through the Wells Fargo Home Projects Credit Card so you can get your heat back on now and pay for it over time instead of putting it off.
Heat Pumps and Dual Fuel Heating in Durham
A lot of Durham homes run a heat pump instead of, or alongside, a gas furnace, and that comes with its own set of quirks. Defrost cycles that don’t kick in right, reversing valves that stick, control boards that lose communication with the thermostat, airflow that’s weaker than it should be, we troubleshoot all of it, then verify refrigerant charge and heating output before we call it fixed. If you’re pairing a furnace with a heat pump for dual fuel heating, we size and set up that pairing during installation so the system actually switches fuel sources the way it’s supposed to, not randomly.
Furnace Brands We Install and Repair
Trane, Carrier, Lennox, York, Amana, American Standard, Goodman. We’ll tell you honestly which one fits your home and your budget instead of pushing whichever brand happens to be sitting on the truck that week.
FAQs for Furnace Repair and Installation
How fast can you get to my house for a furnace repair?
Usually the same day. Our core Durham ZIP codes get priority scheduling, and a no-heat call jumps to the front of the line.
What usually causes a furnace to stop working?
Most no-heat calls come down to one of four things: an ignition problem, a failed flame sensor, a limit switch tripped by restricted airflow, or a control board fault. We check all four on every visit, not just the obvious one.
What size furnace does my house actually need?
Not the size of your old one, that’s the short answer. We run a Manual J load calculation using your home’s actual layout, insulation, and square footage, so the number comes from your house, not your last furnace’s nameplate.
Is financing available for furnace work?
Yes. We offer financing through the Wells Fargo Home Projects Credit Card, and it covers both repairs and new installations.
How often should I have my furnace serviced?
Once a year, ideally right before the cold sets in. Skipping it doesn’t just risk a breakdown, it can also void your manufacturer warranty.
My furnace just stopped. What should I check first?
Start with your thermostat settings and your breaker panel. If it still won’t run after that, call us. If you smell gas or hear a CO alarm, leave the house first and call your gas utility or 911 before anything else.
Schedule A Furnace Service For Your Home
We handle furnace repair and installation throughout Durham, including Trinity Park, Old West Durham, Forest Hills, Croasdaile, Hope Valley, Woodcroft, and Southpoint, plus ZIP codes 27701, 27705, 27707, and 27713. We also serve Chapel Hill, Cary, Morrisville, Hillsborough, and West Raleigh.