Furnace Repair in Zionsville, IN
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Boone County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and a furnace that runs hard to keep up
Zionsville needs heat from October through May. That's eight months a year the furnace is cycling on and off, and on the nights it matters most, December through February, the outside temperature averages 21°F. A furnace working that many cold nights puts a lot of hours on the igniter and the blower motor, and those are the parts that tend to fail first. You'll notice it as a burner that won't light, or a blower that runs but blows cool air.
57.5% of homes here heat with gas, and even a gas furnace needs electricity to run the blower and controls. Statewide, 17% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. Most furnaces restart on their own once the power comes back. If yours doesn't, that's a sign something else needs attention.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 21°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 58%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 10 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $110 a year off heating for a typical Boone County home.
Estimates for a typical Boone County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Indiana 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 Indiana, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the counties and cities.
Boone County sets its own rule for who can do this work, since Indiana leaves HVAC licensing to the counties and cities rather than handling it at the state level. That means there is no state record of who is qualified to repair a furnace here. Whether a license is required and who checks on the work depend on the local building office, not on any statewide standard.
A furnace repair almost always involves a gas connection, and a bad one is the dangerous part of the job. In Boone County, 57.5% of homes heat with gas, so that connection is part of the work on most furnace calls here.
Sources: Indiana Department of Workforce Development · State of Indiana
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, since a battery-dead thermostat can go blank or stop responding. Next check the power switch on or near the furnace, and the breaker for it, since a tripped breaker or a switch bumped off will stop it cold. If those are fine, the filter may be clogged enough to trip a safety switch, or the igniter may have failed. A furnace that won't start at all with power and a call for heat present usually needs a contractor to check the control board and safety switches.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. Check the filter first, since a clogged one can choke airflow and trip a limit switch that shuts the burners off while the fan keeps going. If the filter is clean, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing, or the gas valve isn't opening. Cold air with the fan on and the thermostat calling for heat means the burners aren't firing, and a contractor needs to find out why.
- 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 the flame, the valve reads no flame and shuts the gas off, even though the pilot was burning a second ago. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out, so check for a loose panel or vent letting in air. If the pilot relights but won't hold once you release the knob, the thermocouple is the likely part, and a contractor can test and replace it.