Furnace Repair in Mequon, WI
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Ozaukee County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, and nights near 16 degrees
Your furnace in Mequon works from October through May. That's eight months of the year it has to fire, and on the coldest nights it's holding the house against an average low of 16°F. That kind of cold means longer burner cycles and more of them, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those parts finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all, or it'll light and shut back off a few seconds later.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the power goes out, the furnace goes down with it even though gas is still flowing. Ozaukee County has seen 18 winter storms and 30 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Wisconsin, 18% of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. A furnace that won't restart after an outage isn't always broken. Sometimes it just needs someone to check it.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 75%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 18 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 Ozaukee County home.
Estimates for a typical Ozaukee 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 and nothing more. Nobody tested the contractor's work, and there's no license number tied to a trade exam. Wisconsin also blocks counties and cities from layering on their own HVAC license, so the registration is the only state-level record that exists anywhere in Ozaukee County.
75% of homes in Ozaukee County heat with gas, and a furnace repair on one of them usually means someone is working on a gas line and a burner assembly. That connection is the part that has to be right, and Wisconsin's registration doesn't check it. There is no state exam behind the name on the invoice, only the business record.
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, or the furnace isn't getting power. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next look at the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch, and the breaker for the furnace. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch may have failed, and that takes a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Check the thermostat fan setting first. If it's set to "on" instead of "auto," the blower runs even when the furnace isn't heating, and that feels like cold air. If the setting is right and you're still getting cold air, the burners may not be lighting, or the igniter has failed. With winter nights here averaging 16°F, this isn't something to leave alone for long.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small sensor that sits in the flame and tells the gas valve the pilot is burning. When it fails, the valve shuts the gas off as a safety measure, even though you just relit it. A draft blowing out the flame or a dirty pilot orifice can also cause this, and a contractor can tell which it is.