Furnace Repair in La Crosse, WI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers La Crosse County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, nights near 12 below zero
Your furnace here works from October through May, eight months of the year, with winter nights that average 12°F. At that temperature the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, and every cycle puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that get it lit.
La Crosse County has seen 21 winter storms and 100 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and in 2024, 18% of Wisconsin households went at least 24 hours without it. Most furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, even the gas ones, so when the power drops the heat does too. It should start back up on its own once power returns, and if it does not fire back up on a cold night, that is when people notice something else is wrong.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 12°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 61%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 21 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 La Crosse County home.
Estimates for a typical La Crosse 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 state, but nobody tested the contractor's work to get there. Wisconsin also keeps counties and cities from layering on their own HVAC license, so the registration is the only state record that exists for whoever works on your furnace, wherever in the county you are.
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 test for that. With gas heat in most La Crosse County homes, the check on that work comes down to whoever inspects it locally, not any state credential.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, and check the batteries if it uses them. If the thermostat looks fine, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, sometimes mounted on the furnace itself. Some furnaces also have a door that must be seated correctly against a safety switch, so if it was off recently for filter changes or repairs, make sure it's closed all the way. If all of that checks out and the furnace still won't run, a contractor can test the igniter, the flame sensor, and the control board to find what's failing.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. A dirty flame sensor is a common cause. It reads the flame to confirm it's burning safely, and once it's coated with residue it can't sense the flame and shuts the gas off, so you get air movement with no heat. A clogged filter can also cause this by restricting airflow enough that the furnace overheats and shuts the burners down as a safety measure while the blower keeps running. If you've changed the filter recently and it's still happening, have a contractor check the flame sensor and the ignition system.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually points to 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 with soot, it can't sense the flame properly and the valve shuts the gas off, so the pilot goes out. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so check that nothing nearby is pushing air toward it. If the thermocouple is the problem, a contractor can replace it. Newer furnaces don't use a standing pilot at all, they use an electronic igniter, so if yours has one of those, the issue is something else and worth having checked.