Furnace Repair in Seward, NE
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Seward County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, on nights this cold
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, with winter lows averaging 17°F. Every one of those cycles puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, the parts that get the burner going and confirm it's lit. When one of them wears out, the furnace won't fire, and you'll notice it fast on a night that cold.
Seward County has seen 13 winter storms and 38 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Storms like that knock out power, and across Nebraska a quarter of households went at least 24 hours without it in 2024. A furnace with no power won't run at all, no matter what shape the rest of it is in.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 13 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 Seward County home.
Estimates for a typical Seward 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.
Registration puts the business on file with the Department of Labor. It does not mean anyone tested the contractor's gas or furnace work. There is no exam behind the name, just a record that the business exists.
For a furnace repair, that record is what the state gives you, nothing more. The part of the job that can hurt someone is a bad gas connection, and Nebraska's registration does not test anyone on that. In Seward County, 45.1% of homes heat with gas, so that connection is not a small detail here.
Source: Nebraska Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it's a power or safety switch problem, not the furnace itself. Check the thermostat has power and is set to heat, and check the breaker. Furnaces also have a safety switch on the door panel that cuts power if the panel isn't seated right, and a clogged filter can trip the same kind of shutdown. If those check out and it still won't fire, a contractor will need to look at the igniter or the control board.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The furnace is running but not lighting, or it's stuck on the fan setting. Look at the thermostat first. If it's set to fan instead of auto, the blower runs all the time whether or not there's heat behind it. If it's set right and you're still getting cold air, the igniter or flame sensor is likely failing, and the furnace is running through its cycle without ever lighting. That's a repair for a contractor, not something to keep resetting on your own.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot that won't stay lit is usually the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is real. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads no flame even when there is one and shuts the gas off. A draft blowing across the pilot can cause the same thing, so check for a vent or window nearby before assuming it's the part. If relighting it doesn't hold more than a few minutes, the thermocouple needs replacing.