Furnace Repair in Minneapolis, MN
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hennepin County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, ten below outside
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months out of the year. On winter nights averaging 10°F, it is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, and every start puts a little more wear on the igniter and the ignition control board. Those are usually the first parts to fail, and when they do, the furnace won't light at all.
Most homes here heat with gas, and a gas furnace still needs electricity to run its blower and controls. Minnesota sees its share of winter storms and wind, and last year 13% of households in the state went at least 24 hours without power. When the power goes out in the middle of winter, the heat goes with it, even if the furnace itself is fine.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 75%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 33 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 Hennepin County home.
Estimates for a typical Hennepin County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota 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.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota does not put HVAC contractors through a state licensing exam, and it does not keep a state registry of who does this work either. There is no state record to check, no test behind the name on the truck. Anyone doing furnace repair in Hennepin County is working without that layer of state oversight.
In Hennepin County, 75% of homes heat with gas, so the part of a furnace repair that matters most is the gas connection itself. A bad seal or a bad line is what makes the job dangerous, not the parts that just wear out over time. Minnesota has no license standing behind the person making that connection, and nothing at the state level records whether they got it right.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat is set wrong or the furnace isn't getting power, gas, or a signal to start. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature, and check the breaker and the furnace switch, which looks like a regular light switch near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter, the flame sensor, or a safety switch may be stopping it from starting, and those need a contractor to test. With winter nights here averaging 10°F, a furnace that won't start is worth calling in the same day.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is running but it's not warm, the furnace may be in fan-only mode, so check that the thermostat is set to heat, not just fan. If it's set right and still blowing cold, the burners may not be lighting even though the blower is running, which points to an ignition or gas supply problem. A furnace that runs but doesn't heat still needs a contractor, since the parts that light the burners aren't something to test yourself.
- 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 on. When it wears out or sits out of position, the gas valve shuts off the pilot as a safety measure even though the flame was fine. Drafts near the burner compartment can also blow the pilot out, so check that nothing is blocking or disturbing it. If relighting it doesn't hold, the thermocouple likely needs to be replaced, and that's a job for a contractor since it involves the gas valve.