Furnace repair, replacement and tune-ups in Ottawa

A diagnostic visit in Ottawa runs $109 to $159 in 2026 and comes off the bill when you go ahead with the repair. Typical repairs, parts and labour together: hot-surface igniter $220 to $380, flame sensor $160 to $270, capacitor $160 to $270, pressure switch $220 to $380, inducer motor $480 to $850, blower motor $550 to $1,000, control board $480 to $900. The number is written down and agreed before a part is fitted, so the invoice matches the quote. The phone is answered every day of the year, and if the call comes in late you are told when a technician can be there before anything is booked. The ranges and what moves them are on the furnace repair page.

Start with the two things you can check yourself: a filter so blocked that the furnace overheated and tripped its limit switch, and a thermostat with the fan set to On instead of Auto, which runs the blower between heating cycles. If the filter is clean and the fan is on Auto, the burner is not lighting. That is usually a cracked hot-surface igniter, a flame sensor coated in silica, a pressure switch that will not close because the vent is blocked, or a condensate line that froze overnight. Those need a repair visit. The full order of checks, with what each symptom means, is in why is my furnace blowing cold air?

For a typical Ottawa house in 2026: roughly $4,800 to $6,300 installed for a 96 percent single-stage gas furnace, $5,800 to $7,800 for a two-stage model, and $7,400 to $9,900 for a modulating furnace with a variable-speed blower. What moves the price is the output the house needs, the length and route of the PVC venting, any ductwork or gas line changes, and the thermostat. The quote is the installed price in writing, with removal of the old unit, the start-up combustion test and the inspection included, and nothing added on the day. The breakdown is in what a new furnace costs in Ontario.

Fifteen to twenty with annual service, and some reach twenty-five. Ottawa winters are long, so a furnace here runs more hours a year than one in Toronto, and three things cut the life short: skipped maintenance, an oversized unit that short-cycles all winter, and a filter left in until it starves the heat exchanger of air. A mid-efficiency furnace from the 1990s is finished now, and the first wave of high-efficiency units from around 2005 to 2010 is getting close. The one fault that ends a furnace at any age is a cracked heat exchanger. We say plainly which side of the line yours is on; the reasoning is in how long does a furnace last?

Yes. Cold-climate air-source heat pumps, ductless mini-splits and hybrid (dual-fuel) systems that pair a heat pump with a gas furnace are installed, serviced and repaired. In Ottawa the hybrid is the usual recommendation: the heat pump carries the shoulder seasons and most of the winter, the furnace takes over on the coldest nights, and the same outdoor unit cools the house in summer. Straight air conditioning without a heating side is a question to ask when you call. See heat pumps and hybrid systems and the comparison in heat pump vs furnace in Ontario.

Once a year, in September or early October before the first cold snap. That is what every manufacturer specifies, what most parts warranties require, and what keeps a furnace burning cleanly through an Ottawa winter of 2,000 running hours. An annual tune-up cleans the burners and flame sensor, tests the heat exchanger and safeties, and finds the part that would otherwise fail in February. Between visits, change the filter every one to three months and keep the outdoor vent pipes clear of snow. The full checklist is in how often should you have furnace maintenance?