Furnace Repair in Hudson, WI
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers St. Croix County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near zero
Your furnace works from September through May here. On winter nights averaging 9°F, it runs long and it runs often, and the burner is cycling on and off for most of the day and night. Every start puts wear on the igniter, and a furnace that runs this much will wear one out sooner than a mild climate ever would. When the igniter goes, the burner won't light at all, and the house starts losing heat fast at 9 below.
St. Croix County has seen 30 winter storms and 28 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and power doesn't always hold through them. Statewide, 18% of Wisconsin households lost power for 24 hours or more in 2024. A furnace with no electricity won't fire, even with a full tank of gas or a good pilot light, and that matters most on the nights it's coldest.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 9°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 63%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 30 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 St. Croix County home.
Estimates for a typical St. Croix 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. Nobody tests the contractor's trade knowledge to get it, and nothing about it says the state has checked their work. Wisconsin also does not let St. Croix County or any city add its own HVAC license on top, so this registration is the only state-level record that exists here.
For a furnace repair, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since a bad one is what makes the job dangerous. Wisconsin's registration does not cover that check, and the facts here name no inspection that does. In St. Croix County, 62.9% of homes heat with gas, so that connection is part of most furnace repairs done here.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the power switch. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature, and check the switch on the furnace itself, which looks like a light switch, hasn't been bumped off. If those are fine, look at the furnace door. Most furnaces have a safety switch tripped by the panel, so a door that isn't seated all the way will keep the whole system from starting. Beyond that, it could be the igniter, the flame sensor, or a tripped breaker, and a contractor can test which one it is.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is running the fan but the burners haven't lit yet, or the thermostat fan setting is on rather than auto, which pushes air through the ducts even when the furnace isn't heating it. Check that setting first. If the fan is on auto and you're still getting cold air, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing to start the burners, or the furnace could be overheating and shutting the burners off as a safety measure. That second case needs a contractor to look at it, since it usually points to a clogged filter or blocked vent restricting airflow.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out. It's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is lit. Once it weakens, the valve shuts the gas off even though the pilot is burning. A draft blowing out the flame is another common cause, so check whether the pilot area is exposed to air movement from a vent or door. If neither fixes it, the gas valve itself may need replacing, and that's a job for a licensed contractor.