Furnace Repair in Lincoln, NE
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Lancaster County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, on nights near 18 degrees
Your furnace works from October through May here. That's eight months a year the burner has to light, run, and shut off, night after night, on lows that average 18°F through the coldest stretch of winter. Every one of those cycles puts wear on the igniter and the parts that sense the flame. That's usually where a furnace starts to fail, either it won't light at all or it shuts off partway through a cycle.
Lincoln also sees its share of winter storms and high wind, 19 winter storms and 151 damaging wind events over the last ten years. When the power drops, a gas furnace can't run even with fuel to burn, because it still needs electricity to light and to move the air. A quarter of Nebraska households lost power for at least a day in 2024. If your furnace won't restart once the power's back, that's worth a look before the next cold snap.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 61%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 19 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 Lancaster County home.
Estimates for a typical Lancaster County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Nebraska 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.
Nebraska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration means Nebraska has the business on file with the Department of Labor. It does not mean anyone tested the contractor on furnace repair or gas work. There is no state trade exam behind it, so the registration tells you the business is on record, not that it passed anything.
For a gas furnace, the part that matters is the gas connection, since a bad one is what makes the job dangerous. In Lancaster County, where 60.5% of homes heat with gas, that is not something the state registration looks at. The registration is a business record, and it stops there.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't sending power, or the furnace isn't getting power or gas at all. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has working batteries. Check the furnace switch, the breaker, and if you have a gas furnace, that the gas valve is open. If those are fine, a safety switch inside the furnace may have shut it down, and that calls for a contractor to find out why.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is moving but it isn't warm, the burners likely aren't lighting even though the blower is running. That can mean a dirty flame sensor, a failed igniter, or no gas reaching the burners. It can also mean the thermostat fan is set to "on" instead of "auto", which runs the blower between heat cycles and feels cold. A contractor can tell which of these it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit usually means the thermocouple has worn out and can no longer sense the flame to keep the gas valve open. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot opening can cause the same thing. This is a gas part, so it should be checked and replaced by a contractor rather than relit over and over.