Furnace Repair in Aberdeen, SD
Furnaces here run from September through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Brown County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat wears on a furnace here
Homes in Aberdeen need heat from September through May, nine months of the year. Winter nights average 6°F from December through February, and on nights that cold the furnace cycles on and off again and again to keep up. Each start asks the igniter to light the burner, and that part wears with use. When it finally fails, the furnace stops firing and will not restart on its own.
Brown County has recorded 42 winter storms and 187 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind at that strength can push back against the flue and the vent, and a furnace already running long hours has less margin to handle that too.
- 9 months
- September through May, your furnace is on duty
- 6°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 42 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $100 a year off heating for a typical Brown County home.
Estimates for a typical Brown County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, South Dakota 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.
In South Dakota, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
South Dakota does not test or license HVAC contractors at the state level. Whatever rule applies to a furnace repair in Brown County comes from the city or town where the house sits, not from Pierre. Some towns keep their own contractor licensing, others have none, and there is no statewide list either way. There is no state record to check because the state does not keep one.
A furnace repair means a gas connection, and that is the part worth someone checking. Whether anyone does is a matter of local rule here, since the state sets none. Almost half the homes in Brown County, 47.6%, heat with gas, so this is not a rare case in this county.
Source: South Dakota Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the power switch, since those cause more no-heat calls than anything inside the furnace itself. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Then look for a switch that looks like a light switch near the furnace, sometimes in the basement, and make sure it's on. If those check out, the igniter, the flame sensor, or a safety switch may be keeping it from starting, and that calls for a contractor to test it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is still warming up, or the blower is running after the burners shut off to clear leftover heat from the ducts. If cold air keeps coming and never turns warm, check that the filter isn't clogged, since a blocked filter can smother the flame sensor and trip a safety shutoff. When the air stays cold with the thermostat calling for heat, the igniter or the gas valve likely isn't lighting the burners, and that needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple has worn out or the pilot flame isn't touching it right. The thermocouple is a small metal sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep the gas flowing. Wind drafts down the vent or a dirty pilot orifice can also blow it out or choke the flame. This isn't something to keep relighting on your own since it points to a part that needs replacing.