Furnace Repair in Stevens Point, WI
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Portage County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, ten below some nights
Your furnace in Stevens Point works from September through May. That is nine months of the year it has to start reliably, and on the coldest nights it is fighting a losing battle against an average low of 10°F. That kind of cold means longer run times and more cycles, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor.
Winter here brings its own risks beyond the cold. Portage County has seen 27 winter storms and 44 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. When the power drops, your furnace stops, even if the gas line is fine. Most furnaces start back up on their own once power returns, but if yours does not, that is a sign something else needs attention.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 56%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 27 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 Portage County home.
Estimates for a typical Portage 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.
Registration puts the business on file with the Department of Safety and Professional Services. Nobody tested this contractor on furnace repair to get that number, and the state does not track their work after they have it. Counties and cities in Wisconsin cannot layer their own HVAC license on top of this, so the business record is the only state paperwork involved anywhere in the state.
For a furnace repair, the part that matters most is the gas connection, and registration does not test anyone on that. In Portage County, 56.4 percent of homes heat with gas, so a bad connection is not a rare risk here. The registration number tells you the business is on file. It does not tell you who is good at this particular job.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it comes down to power, gas, or a safety switch that tripped. Check the thermostat first and make sure it's set to heat and calling for a higher temperature than the room. Next check the switch on the furnace itself, the one that looks like a light switch, and make sure it hasn't been bumped off. If the furnace still won't respond, the igniter may have failed or a safety sensor may be holding it off, and that needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it's not warm, the furnace may be running the blower without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem or a gas supply issue. It can also happen right when the system starts a cycle, since the blower sometimes runs a few seconds before the burners fire. If cold air keeps coming the whole time it runs, don't keep cycling it, have a contractor check the ignition system.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is usually the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is burning. When it wears out or sits out of place, it reads no flame even when there is one, and the valve shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot can also put it out. Relighting it yourself is fine to try, but if it goes out again, the thermocouple likely needs to be replaced by a contractor.