St. Albert residents could be waiting up to three days for help with a broken furnace, although those in dire situations could be triaged and helped in as fast as an hour, said one local heating company.
Icy temperatures have plunged the mercury to as low as -40 C and local heating companies are flooded with calls for help.
Environment Canada issued an extreme cold warning for the Edmonton region on Jan. 11, with the wind chill expected to hit -50 C into the weekend.
Carmal Huppie of St. Albert’s True North Heating and Cooling said furnace companies typically get flooded with calls whenever temperatures get this low.
“This weather does bring chaos to homeowners,” she said, with many concerned about their pipes freezing and bursting.
“People are panicked.”
Most homes can go one to three days without a working furnace under these conditions before their pipes freeze, Huppie said. Because of the sheer volume of calls that happen during cold snaps, homeowners should expect to wait anywhere from an hour to three days before a technician can reach them.
“Literally everyone is picking up the phone at the same time,” she said, and companies have to triage cases.
Huppie said companies will prioritize calls where homes have no heat. An initial call-out will cost $100 to $200, not including the cost of actual repairs.
To keep your furnace running properly, Huppie said to keep all vents in your house open and clear to ensure proper furnace operation. Check and change your furnace filter regularly, and ensure you are using one of the proper size, thickness, and filtration rating for the furnace. (Home Depot recommends four to six filter changes a year, with most homes using a MERV 8 to 13 filter.)
If you have a high-efficiency furnace with a plastic vent pipe sticking out of your house, keep that pipe free of ice, Huppie continued. If there is ice or snow blocking it, carefully remove it by hand or with a bent coat-hanger. Do not use hair dryers or brute force, as those can damage the pipe and cause potentially unsafe furnace operation. A blocked exhaust pipe can cause poisonous carbon monoxide to build up in your home.
If you want to use portable heaters to keep your pipes from freezing, don’t let them operate unattended, Huppie said. Keep them out of reach of pets and kids as well.
“If you’re not at home or not awake, you should not be using them,” Huppie said.
Anyone with furnace trouble during this cold snap should call a repair company for help, Huppie said.
Anyone who does not have a home with heat should contact the St. Albert Food Bank for emergency shelter, said executive director Suzan Krecsy. Several had done so already as of Jan. 11.
“Living rough right now is life-threatening,” she said, and anyone trying to live outdoors is at risk of frostbite and death.
“It’s brutal out there.”
