Smelling Gas Near Your Furnace: Houston Emergency Steps

Houston, TX homeowners: Any natural-gas odor anywhere in your home — from the furnace, water heater, range, fireplace, dryer, or gas log — is a safety event. The Houston metro runs on CenterPoint Energy natural gas, and CenterPoint responds to all reported leaks with a free dispatch. This guide walks through the exact 7-step sequence we walk homeowners through over the phone during a gas-leak call.

Step 1 — Evacuate the home

If anyone in the home smells gas strongly enough to cause dizziness, eye irritation, headache, or nausea, evacuate immediately. Take pets. Leave doors closed behind you. Do not operate any switches inside — a spark from a wall switch or thermostat can ignite accumulated gas. Move at least 100 ft away from the home.

Step 2 — Call 911 first if anyone is symptomatic

911 dispatch will coordinate evacuation, fire response, and a CenterPoint dispatch. Gas-leak symptoms — headache, nausea, dizziness, loss of consciousness — require medical evaluation before HVAC work begins.

Step 3 — Call CenterPoint at (832) 591-7991

CenterPoint responds to all residential gas-leak reports with a free dispatch. If your home is the only one on the block smelling gas, CenterPoint will arrive in 30–90 minutes and shut off the gas at the meter. The gas stays off until the leak source is identified and fixed by a licensed technician.

Step 4 — Only after gas is shut off — call us

Once the gas is off at the meter, call (832) 591-7991 and we’ll dispatch an HVAC technician to identify the source — typically a cracked heat exchanger on the furnace, a leaking gas valve, an unsealed flue joint, or an external leak on a gas line. We coordinate directly with CenterPoint and your HVAC equipment manufacturer.

Step 5 — What we inspect

We pressure-test the gas train with a manometer. A pressure drop >0.5 in. w.c. over 5 minutes on a properly isolated gas train means a leak. Typical leak sources in order of frequency: furnace heat-exchanger crack, flex connector at the appliance shutoff, threaded gas-joint sealant failure, drip-leg sediment, gas-valve seat. Each has a different fix and a different safety implication.

Step 6 — Heat-exchanger cracks trigger replacement

If the furnace heat exchanger is cracked, the furnace is unsafe and must be replaced — not repaired. We stop work, document the crack with photos, and provide a same-day replacement quote. The homeowner should NOT use the furnace until the replacement is complete and the gas is restored by CenterPoint.

Step 7 — Beyond the immediate event

After a gas-leak event, schedule annual combustion analysis on every gas appliance in the home — furnace, water heater, range, dryer, fireplace. Annual analysis catches drift toward unsafe levels months before they’d show up as an actual event.

Houston’s HVAC load is among the most demanding in the country — 2,400+ cooling hours per year, 95–103°F summer highs, and 73–78°F dew points from May to September. Any HVAC plan tuned for Katy needs to start with humidity, refrigerant, airflow, and the local utility rate structure.

Key steps for Katy homeowners

• Memorize 911 and CenterPoint (832) 591-7991 — they go in your phone before any HVAC equipment contact.
• Install a combo smoke + CO detector on each level and in every bedroom.
• Replace batteries every year — we recommend daylight savings changes.
• Never operate a gas appliance that smells odd — even slightly.
• Schedule annual combustion analysis on every gas appliance.