Furnace Repair in Terre Haute, IN
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Vigo County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat, and nights near 23 degrees
Your furnace runs from October through April here, and on the coldest nights it works against an average low of 23°F. That means long runtimes and a lot of cycles on and off, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit. When one of those parts finally gives out, the furnace either won't light at all or it shuts off partway through a cycle.
Vigo County has seen 5 winter storms and 49 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. Statewide, 17% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. 48.1% of homes here heat with electricity, so an outage like that means no heat at all until the power is back.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 5 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
In Indiana, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the counties and cities.
Indiana has no state license for HVAC contractors. The decision is left to each county and city, so whether a contractor needs a local license to repair a furnace in Vigo County depends on what Vigo County or Terre Haute has set up on their own. There is no state exam behind the work and no state record of who passed one.
A furnace repair means gas is involved, and the gas connection is the part that matters most. A loose or bad connection is a leak and fire risk, and that is true no matter what the county requires. Whether that connection gets checked by anyone besides the contractor depends on what Vigo County has set up, since Indiana itself sets no rule on it.
Sources: Indiana Department of Workforce Development · State of Indiana
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common reason is the thermostat, so check that it's set to heat and above room temperature, and that its batteries are good. If that's fine, look at the furnace switch, the one on or near the unit that looks like a light switch, and make sure it hasn't been bumped off. A tripped breaker or a furnace that won't ignite past the pilot or igniter stage points to something a contractor needs to look at, since diagnosing that safely means opening the unit.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most furnaces run a delay before warm air comes through, so a few minutes of cool air at startup is normal. If cold air keeps blowing the whole time it runs, the burners may not be igniting even though the blower is, which can point to a bad igniter or flame sensor. A dirty filter can also choke airflow enough that the air feels cool by the time it reaches you, so check that first.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame and keeps gas flowing to it, has worn out or is out of position. A draft blowing across the pilot can also snuff it out repeatedly. Either way, this isn't something to keep relighting on your own since it involves gas, and a contractor can tell which part needs replacing.