Gas Company Shut Off Your Furnace? What It Means and What to Do

You booked the gas company’s fall pilot relight, or called about a gas smell, and the technician left with bad news: your furnace or wall heater is unsafe and the gas to it has been shut off. People often call this getting “red-tagged.” It is frustrating when the weather is turning cold, but it usually means the technician found something that could hurt someone. Here is what it means and how to get your heat back safely.

Why a technician shuts off a furnace

A gas technician will turn off an appliance when it is not safe to keep running. Common reasons include:

• Venting problems: a flue pipe that is disconnected, rusted through or blocked, so exhaust (including carbon monoxide) can spill into the house.
• A cracked heat exchanger: the metal wall that keeps flames and exhaust separate from the air you breathe has failed.
• Flames rolling out of the burner area, or burners that are badly out of adjustment.
• A gas leak at the appliance’s valve or connector.
• Missing or bypassed safety parts, or an old wall heater or floor furnace that has worn past safe repair.
• Combustibles too close: storage, paint or cleaning products crowded around the unit.

What to do right away

1. Leave it off. Do not turn the gas back on, relight the pilot or remove any notice yourself. The shut-off is there to protect your household.
2. Get the reason in writing. Ask the technician what they found, and take a photo of any notice or paperwork they leave. This is what your contractor needs to see.
3. Check your carbon monoxide alarms. California requires them in homes with gas appliances, a fireplace or an attached garage. If an alarm sounds, or anyone has a headache, dizziness or nausea that eases when they leave the house, get everyone outside and call SoCalGas at 1-800-427-2200 or 911.
4. Call a licensed HVAC contractor to diagnose and repair or replace the unit. Appliance repairs are the homeowner’s responsibility, and the gas company’s visit is a safety check, not a repair service for major problems.

Staying warm until it’s fixed

• Use electric space heaters only, at least three feet from anything that can burn, plugged straight into the wall (no extension cords), and off when you leave the room or go to sleep.
• Never heat the house with the oven or stovetop, a grill or a camp heater. Unvented gas space heaters are not allowed in California.
• Close off unused rooms and keep doors shut to hold heat where people are.

Repair or replace?

It depends on what failed. A blocked vent, a bad connector or a worn part is often a reasonable repair. A cracked heat exchanger, or an old wall heater or floor furnace with no safe parts available, usually means replacement. Our guide to repairing or replacing a furnace walks through the choice. Replacing a furnace or wall heater generally requires a permit (in the City of Los Angeles, from LADBS). A licensed contractor should pull it.

Getting the gas turned back on

Once the contractor has made the repair or installed the new unit, the gas to that appliance can be restored and the pilot relit. Ask your contractor whether they will restore it or whether you should schedule SoCalGas. SoCalGas offers a no-cost pilot relight that can include a furnace safety check; you can book it online or at 1-877-238-0092.

Questions to ask the contractor

1. Are you licensed with the CSLB (C-20 for HVAC) and insured? You can check at CSLB.ca.gov.
2. Can you confirm the problem the gas technician found? Can you show me?
3. Is it safe and worth repairing, or does it need to be replaced?
4. Does the quote include the permit and the final inspection?
5. Who restores the gas and relights the pilot when you’re done?

Older homes with wall heaters or floor furnaces: see wall heater or floor furnace not working and carbon monoxide and furnace safety.

Need a licensed pro?

Heat shut off and need it back? We will connect you with an independent, licensed local HVAC contractor who can diagnose the problem and quote the repair or replacement. It is free for homeowners. See furnace repair, wall heater repair and heating installation.

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