Furnace Repair in Eau Claire, WI
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Eau Claire County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, nights near zero
Your furnace works from September through May here. On winter nights averaging 9°F, it runs long stretches and cycles on and off for hours at a time to keep up. That kind of steady demand wears on the igniter and the blower motor faster than in a place with a shorter, milder winter.
Eau Claire County has seen 27 winter storms and 35 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind and ice bring down power lines, and when the power goes out your furnace stops, even if the gas is still on. Statewide, 18% of households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. If your furnace won't restart after an outage, or it's been cycling more than usual to keep the house warm, that's worth having looked at before the next cold snap.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 9°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 57%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 27 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $120 a year off heating for a typical Eau Claire County home.
Estimates for a typical Eau Claire County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Wisconsin fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed and the heat exchanger is sound.
Replacement makes sense when the heat exchanger is cracked or the furnace keeps needing parts.
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the Department of Safety and Professional Services and nothing more. Nobody tested this contractor's furnace work before handing it out, and the state does not keep a record of who passed and who failed, because there is no exam to pass. Wisconsin also does not let Eau Claire County or any city add its own HVAC license on top, so this registration is the only state-level record that exists for whoever works on your furnace.
What protects you on a gas furnace repair is not the paperwork. It is the connection itself, since that is the part that turns dangerous if it is done wrong. Wisconsin's registration does not test for that, and no county license fills the gap. In Eau Claire County, 57.2% of homes heat with gas, which is the reason that joint and that connection are the part of this job worth caring about.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common cause is the thermostat not calling for heat, so check that it's set above room temperature and the batteries are good. After that, look at your breaker panel and your furnace's own power switch, which is usually mounted on or near the unit and looks like a light switch. If those check out, many furnaces stop and lock out after a failed start, and that needs a contractor to read the fault and clear it. With 9°F nights common here in the winter, it's worth getting this looked at quickly rather than waiting.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- First check the thermostat fan setting. If it's set to "on" instead of "auto", the blower runs constantly and pushes air even when the furnace isn't actively heating, which feels cold. If the setting is right and you're still getting cold air, the burners may be failing to ignite while the blower still runs, or the furnace could be overheating and shutting off its heating cycle early because of a clogged filter restricting airflow. A dirty filter is worth checking yourself, but if that's not it, a contractor needs to look at the ignition and safety components.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This is almost always the thermocouple, a small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep the gas flowing. When it wears out or gets coated in soot, it stops sensing the flame correctly and shuts the gas off, putting the pilot out. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can also cause this. Since gas is involved, this isn't something to keep relighting on your own if it won't hold. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if that's the cause.