Furnace Repair in Green Bay, WI
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Brown County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat puts real wear on a Green Bay furnace
From September through May, your furnace is the thing standing between your house and a Wisconsin winter. On nights averaging 14°F, it runs long and it runs often, and every cycle means the igniter lights the burner one more time. That part wears down with use, not age, and a house that's heating nine months a year asks a lot of it.
Most furnaces in Brown County run on gas, and that means a steady draw on the power that runs the blower and the control board. Storms here have knocked out power often enough that furnaces sit dark until the electricity comes back, and when it does, some units need a hand restarting. If your furnace won't fire after an outage, or it's cycling more than it used to, that's the wear showing.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 72%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 22 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $110 a year off heating for a typical Brown County home.
Estimates for a typical Brown 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 means the contractor's business is on file with the state, nothing more. Nobody tested their gas work before handing them that number, and the state doesn't grade what they do after. Wisconsin also keeps counties and cities from adding their own HVAC license, so this registration is the only state record that exists on a furnace contractor anywhere in Brown County.
Most homes in Brown County heat with gas, and the gas connection is the part of a furnace repair that matters most for safety. Registration doesn't touch that. Wisconsin's rule stops at the business record, not at what the contractor does inside a home.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, and check that it has power or fresh batteries. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for the furnace. A furnace that still won't respond after that likely has an ignition problem or a safety switch tripped somewhere in the system, and that needs a contractor to trace down.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running before the burners have caught up, which is normal for the first minute or so after a cycle starts. If cold air keeps coming for longer than that, check your air filter first. A clogged filter can choke airflow enough to trip a limit switch that shuts the burners off while the fan keeps running. If the filter is clean and you're still getting cold air, the igniter or a gas valve issue is a likely cause, and that's a job for a contractor to diagnose.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is actually burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when one is there, and the valve shuts the gas off. A draft blowing out the pilot is another common cause, so check for anything disturbing the airflow around it. Either way, a furnace with a pilot that won't hold needs a contractor to replace the part or adjust it, since a standing pilot involves an open gas line.