Furnace Repair in DeKalb, IL
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers DeKalb County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and nights that drop to 17 degrees
DeKalb County homes need the furnace running from October through May. That is eight months of the year the burner is cycling on and off, and on winter nights that average 17°F, it runs long and often to keep up. Every cycle means the igniter has to light the burner again, and that repeated demand is what wears it out.
Most homes here heat with gas, so when the igniter fails or the flame sensor gets fouled, the furnace stops producing heat right when it is needed most. DeKalb County has seen 17 winter storms and 105 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that can knock out power along with the weather. A furnace cannot run without electricity for its blower and controls, so a power outage during a cold snap means no heat until the power comes back.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 72%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 17 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $150 a year off heating for a typical DeKalb County home.
Estimates for a typical DeKalb County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Illinois 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 Illinois, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Illinois does not license HVAC contractors at the state level. That job is left to cities and towns, so whether a contractor needs a license here depends on where the house sits, not on any state record. Some municipalities require one, some do not, and Illinois itself keeps no file on who is qualified to do this work.
For a furnace repair, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since a loose fitting or bad seal is what makes the job dangerous. Whether that gets checked comes down to whatever DeKalb County's local towns require, not a state license, because there is no state credential standing behind the work either way. In DeKalb County, 71.6% of homes heat with gas, so this is the kind of repair most houses here will need at some point.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often it's the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature, and check the breaker if the display is blank. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, and that's a part a contractor has to replace. On gas furnaces, a switch flipped off at the unit or on the flue pipe can also stop it cold, so look for that before you assume the worst.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Give it a few minutes. Furnaces run the blower before the burners fully warm up, so a short stretch of cool air at startup is normal. If it keeps blowing cold or never warms up at all, the igniter or flame sensor likely isn't lighting the burners, and the blower is just moving unheated air through the house. A dirty filter can also make the air feel cooler than it should even when the furnace is working, so check that first since it's the easiest thing to fix yourself.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- The thermocouple is the usual reason. It's a small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning, and once it wears out or sits out of position, the valve shuts the gas off and the pilot goes out. A draft blowing across the pilot can also snuff it out, so check for anything nearby that might stir the air near the burner compartment. Worth knowing that a standing pilot doesn't run on electricity, so a power outage isn't why it went out. If it won't hold after a few tries, a contractor should look at the thermocouple and the gas valve, since this matters here where homes count on heat from October through May.