Furnace Repair in Rochester, MN
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Olmsted County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and nights near 10 below
Your furnace in Olmsted County works from September through May, nine months of the year. Winter lows average 10°F, which means the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a time, night after night. Every one of those cycles puts a load on the igniter and the blower motor, and over years that adds up.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the furnace stops firing, there is no backup warming the house. The area has seen 36 winter storms and 92 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like these knock out power. A good share of Minnesota households went at least a full day without power in 2024. A furnace with no power will not ignite even if every part inside it is fine, and when the power comes back on, it should start again on its own.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 72%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 36 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $130 a year off heating for a typical Olmsted County home.
Estimates for a typical Olmsted 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 keeps no state list of HVAC contractors and runs no test before someone can take this kind of job. There's no license number to write down and no state record to check, because the state doesn't keep one. That's true no matter how long the contractor has been doing this work.
On a furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since a bad one is what makes the job dangerous. Minnesota's rule doesn't single that out or add any check on it. In Olmsted County, about 71.5% of homes heat with gas, so a lot of the furnaces being worked on here have that connection to get right.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- 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 has any. If the thermostat looks fine, check the furnace switch, usually a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for it in your panel. A furnace that still won't respond after that has an internal problem, often the igniter or a safety switch, and needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is coming out cold, the furnace may be running its fan without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem or a safety switch shutting the burners off before they start. A dirty filter can also cause this by overheating the furnace and tripping a limit switch. Either way, the burners aren't firing, and that needs a contractor to diagnose.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple isn't sensing the flame and is shutting off the gas as a safety measure. It can also happen if the pilot orifice is dirty or if there's a draft near the pilot assembly. A standing pilot doesn't rely on your home's power, so this isn't an electrical issue. Relighting it yourself may work for a night, but if it keeps going out, the part needs to be replaced.