Furnace Repair in Madison, WI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dane County will get in touch.
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Eight months of Madison winter wears a furnace down
Your furnace works from October through May here, eight months of the year. On the coldest nights, when the temperature outside drops to an average of 14°F, it runs long and it runs often, cycling on and off to keep up. Each start puts a load on the igniter and the burner assembly, and over enough winters that wear catches up with the parts.
Most homes in Dane County heat with gas, so when the furnace stops firing, there is no backup. That matters more here than in a lot of places. Winter storms bring wind and knock out power, and if your furnace loses power partway through a cold night, the house cools fast. If yours is short-cycling, blowing cold air, or not starting at all, it is worth getting looked at before the next cold snap.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 68%
- 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 Dane County home.
Estimates for a typical Dane 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.
The state keeps a record of the business, its name and where it operates, but nobody tests the contractor's work to get on that list. It is a registration, not a license, so it tells you the business is on file with the Department of Safety and Professional Services and nothing more. Wisconsin also does not let Dane County or the 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 test for that, and no state license stands behind it either. With most homes in Dane County heating with gas, that gap sits between the homeowner and the work more often than not.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way you think it is, or power to the furnace has been interrupted. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may have failed, and that's a job for a contractor to diagnose.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is blowing but it's not warm, the furnace may be running its fan without the burners firing. That points to an ignition problem, a dirty flame sensor, or a safety switch cutting off the burners after they light. It can also mean the thermostat fan setting is on rather than auto, which pushes air through the vents even when the burners are off. A contractor can check the burners and the sensor to find out which it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is present. When it fails, the valve shuts off the gas as a safety measure even though the pilot lit fine a moment before. A draft blowing out the flame or a dirty pilot opening can cause the same thing, and a contractor can tell which one you're dealing with.