Furnace Repair in Pierre, SD
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hughes County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, ten below to run it
Your furnace in Pierre works from October through May. That's eight months a year it has to fire up on demand, and on winter nights averaging 10°F, it runs long and hard to keep the house warm. Every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the components that get the burner lit.
Hughes County has seen 37 winter storms and 135 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind that strong can pull heat out of a house fast and push a furnace to run longer than it should. If the igniter is already worn or the blower motor is straining, a cold snap is when it gives out.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 37 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $90 a year off heating for a typical Hughes County home.
Estimates for a typical Hughes 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 has no state license for HVAC contractors. Whatever rule applies to a furnace repair in Hughes County comes from the city or town the house is in, not from the state. Some towns license and test contractors on their own. Others have no such rule, and a contractor can work there without being tested or recorded by anyone. There is no state list either way.
A gas furnace depends on a sound connection at the gas line and a clean burn once it is running. In a town with its own licensing, that is what the local test and record are meant to stand behind. Where a town has no such rule, there is nothing at the local level standing behind that part of the work. Almost half the homes in Hughes County heat with gas, so this is the kind of repair where that gap matters most.
Source: South Dakota Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common reason is the thermostat isn't calling for heat, either from dead batteries or a setting that got bumped. Check that it's set to heat and above room temperature first. If that's fine, a tripped breaker, a closed gas valve, or a switch on the furnace itself that looks like a light switch can also stop it cold. On many furnaces that switch sits near the unit and gets flipped off by accident during other work. If power, gas, and the thermostat all check out, the furnace has a fault it can't clear on its own, and a contractor will need to read the code and diagnose it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the furnace is just starting up. It blows air for a short stretch before the burners light, so a few minutes of cool air isn't a problem on its own. If it keeps blowing cold, or never warms up at all, the igniter may be failing to light the burners, or the flame sensor is shutting the burners off right after they start. Both are common failures and neither is something to keep running on, since your winter nights here average 10°F and a furnace that won't hold a flame won't keep up. A contractor can test the igniter and sensor directly.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually points to the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to stay open. When it wears out or sits slightly out of position, it reads the flame as out even when it isn't, and shuts the gas off. A draft blowing on the pilot can also put it out, so check that any nearby vent or door isn't pushing air across it. If you relight it and it goes out again within a minute or two, the thermocouple is the likely part, and a contractor can test and replace it.