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Logan County saw 289 severe weather events between 2015 and 2024. That includes 153 hail events, 104 damaging wind events, and 20 tornadoes. A furnace shares the house with whatever else those storms touch, and ice or a power spike during a bad storm can affect how it runs even when nothing looks wrong from outside. Winter storms hit here too, 12 of them over that same stretch, which is exactly when a furnace can least afford to be out.
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Half the homes in Logan County were built in 1964 or earlier.
A furnace that old is running on borrowed time, and a hard freeze is a bad time to find out how much is left.
Eight months of heat a year is a long season to ask one machine to cover. Most of the country gets a break somewhere in there. Here, a furnace that starts in October is still working in May, which means more hours on the igniter, more cycles on the blower motor, more chances for a small issue to turn into a bigger one. A furnace that's struggling isn't failing for no reason. It's been carrying a heavier load than furnaces in most places ever have to. Getting the actual cause diagnosed, rather than just patching the symptom, is what makes a repair hold up for the rest of the season.
A power spike or a hit to the outdoor unit does not always show up right away. If Logan County has had a rough storm come through, get the furnace checked even if it seems fine. Catching it now beats finding out during the next cold stretch.
Find a contractorEight months of a furnace running is eight months of wear on the same igniter, the same blower motor, the same switches. When one part finally gives out, it's worth having a technician check the rest of the sequence while they're already in there, not just swap the one part that failed. A flame sensor with corrosion on it or an igniter barely holding continuity can be the next thing to quit. Catching that now, while the furnace is already open, costs less than a second visit in the middle of winter.
Check the thermostat first. Make sure it's set to heat and the set point is above room temperature, and swap the batteries if it uses them. Go to the breaker panel and look for a tripped breaker on the furnace circuit. Check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and make sure it's on. If the furnace uses a standing pilot, see if the pilot light is actually lit. None of this requires opening the furnace itself.
Don't pull the furnace panels off or go near the burners, the flame sensor, or the gas valve. Don't try to relight a pilot on a unit with electronic ignition, it doesn't work that way and there's nothing to light by hand. If you smell gas, don't flip switches or check anything at all. Leave the house and call the gas company from outside. A technician can sort out an ignition problem or a bad flame sensor once they're there, but gas smell isn't a homeowner job under any circumstances.
Estimates for a typical Logan County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Colorado 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.
A diagnostic starts before any panel comes off. The technician asks what the furnace was doing right before it quit, whether it was short cycling, blowing cold, or not turning on at all, because that narrows things down fast. Then they'll pull the panels and check the sequence of operation: does the thermostat call for heat, does the inducer motor start, does the igniter glow or the pilot light, does the gas valve open, does the burner light, does the blower kick on. Wherever that sequence breaks is usually where the problem is. They'll check the flame sensor for corrosion, test the igniter for continuity, and look at the heat exchanger for cracks or rust, since that's a safety issue and not just a repair one. Most of this is testing with a multimeter and watching the furnace actually try to run, not guesswork.
