DENVER GUIDE
Field notes for the closet
and the outdoor unit
Furnaces, boilers, and heat pumps share Denver blocks without sharing a mechanical room. Use these guides to name what you heard, what the weather was doing, and when the visit should wait until morning.
What is happening? ↓Concept diagram only. Equipment layouts vary by house.
START WITH THE SYMPTOM
What are you noticing?
No heat tonight
The house is falling in temperature, or you are unsure whether this can wait until morning.
Furnace will not light
A draft motor, a click, then silence, and you need the sequence plus the gas-smell stop.
Not cooling
The outdoor unit sits in the sun and the supply air is not cold in dry afternoon air.
Alarm or symptoms
A carbon monoxide alarm, or a headache that eases outdoors, comes before any heating test.
BEFORE YOU CALL
Write the visit down before you dial
The notes tool builds a short summary in your browser. Nothing is sent to us. Take it to the phone call so the symptom, the room, and the safety facts stay in order.
Write my service notes →- Name the machineFurnace, boiler, or heat pump, and the closet or pad it sits on.
- Keep the orderThermostat screen, sounds, smells, and which rooms lagged.
- Stop for safetyGas odor and carbon monoxide symptoms end the checklist and start the exit.
ALL GUIDES
Fifteen guides from the symptom outward
Start with what the equipment did. Ignition, cooling, heat pumps, cost factors, permits, and humidity each have their own page so a no-heat night does not turn into a sales script.
Start with the equipment
Furnace, boiler, heat pump, or condenser: what a Denver visit is actually looking at.
Read the guide →Furnace will not light
Draft, click, silence, or a gas smell: what to record and when to leave the house.
Read the guide →Air conditioner not cooling
Sun on the condenser, weak supply air, and the checks that stay outside the refrigerant circuit.
Read the guide →Heat pump on a cold night
Defrost steam, long runtimes, and backup heat: what is ordinary and what still needs a technician.
Read the guide →What changes the bill
Access, hour of the call, parts, and permit scope: factors only, with no prices attached.
Read the guide →Repair or replace
Safety, parts, and repeated failures decide the fork. Price slogans do not.
Read the guide →No heat tonight
Gas smell, alarms, and a falling house temperature: what happens now and what can wait.
Read the guide →Shoulder season and first snow
Filters, outdoor cabinets, a heat test, and a smoke check before the weather turns.
Read the guide →Carbon monoxide
Alarms, symptoms that ease outdoors, and combustion appliances in brick houses and tight infill.
Read the guide →Thermostat acting up
Blank screens, leftover schedules, and a sunny wall that does not feel the rest of the house.
Read the guide →Permits and inspections
What to ask Denver Community Planning and Development before equipment is changed.
Read the guide →Before you hire
Scope, permits, elevation, and the difference between a maintenance visit and a replacement pitch.
Read the guide →DIY or call a pro
House care stops at the filter, the batteries, and loose snow. Gas and refrigerant do not.
Read the guide →Refrigerant, without the can
What the fluid does, why low charge usually means a leak, and why you do not add it.
Read the guide →Winter dryness indoors
Heating plus dry outdoor air, window condensation, and humidifiers as a topic rather than a pitch.
Read the guide →WHY A DENVER GUIDE
A mile up, dry air, and closets that do not match
Denver sits about a mile above sea level. Sun, snow, and a sharp drop after a warm afternoon are the setting a thermostat and an outdoor coil actually live in. Older brick in Capitol Hill or the Highlands does not hide equipment the way newer infill does. Ask a technician whether a furnace or boiler is set up with elevation in mind, and check AirNow when smoke is in the news instead of trusting a number from last season.
Who writes this and how →QUICK ANSWERS
Questions about this site
Is Denver HVAC Guide a repair company?
No. The site publishes guides and a notes tool that stays in your browser. Nobody here dispatches a truck or chooses the company that might call you back. Use the questions in the hiring guide, then check permits with Denver Community Planning and Development if the work changes equipment.
What should I do if I smell gas?
Leave the building, do not flip switches, and from outside call the emergency number printed on the gas bill. Xcel Energy is the name many local bills show. This site does not print a replacement number. A heating company visit comes after the utility says the building is clear.
Do the guides include repair prices?
No. Cost pages list factors such as access, timing, parts, and whether a permit is in the scope. They do not list dollar amounts, ranges, or a fair price. Ask the company that has seen the closet, and compare quotes only after they name the same work.
Does a Denver permit cover nearby cities?
No. Aurora, Lakewood, and Arvada keep their own counters. Denver Community Planning and Development is the office for a Denver address, through denvergov.org. Say the city of the house before anyone removes a furnace. This site does not invent a license class or a fee.
Can I add refrigerant or bypass a safety switch?
No. Refrigerant belongs in a sealed circuit, and a can is not a measurement. Safety switches stop equipment for a reason. Do not jumper or tape them to force heat. Filters, thermostat batteries, and loose snow are the house-care side. Gas, combustion, and the refrigerant ports are not.