Furnace Repair in Economy, PA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Beaver County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat puts real wear on your furnace
In Economy, your furnace runs from October through May. On winter nights averaging 23°F, it is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Most homes here heat with gas, so that means the igniter and burner are lighting again and again, all winter long. That kind of repeated cycling is what wears an igniter down or fouls a burner until it won't light clean.
The area has also seen its share of winter storms and wind over the past ten years, and across Pennsylvania about 15% of households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. When the power drops on a cold night, a gas furnace with an electric ignition won't restart until it's back, and that's usually when a homeowner finds out the hard way that something else was already wearing thin.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 70%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 9 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $150 a year off heating for a typical Beaver County home.
Estimates for a typical Beaver County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Pennsylvania 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.
Pennsylvania requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state and nothing more. Nobody tests the contractor's furnace knowledge to get on that list, and no license is issued or renewed based on their work. Pennsylvania also keeps cities and towns from layering on their own HVAC license, so the registration is the only state-level record that exists here, wherever in the state the address is.
For a furnace repair, that means the registration confirms a business exists and nothing about how it handles gas. Most homes in Beaver County heat with gas, and a furnace repair usually means someone is working on a gas line and a burner assembly, where a bad connection is the part that can hurt someone. Pennsylvania's registration does not check that work at all.
Source: Pennsylvania General Assembly
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or power to the furnace has been cut off somewhere. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker for the furnace. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may be at fault, and that calls for a contractor to check it.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- A furnace blows cold air for a few seconds when it first starts, while it clears cool air from the ducts, so that part is normal. If it keeps blowing cold or never warms up, the burners may not be lighting even though the blower is running. This can mean a dirty flame sensor, a bad igniter, or the gas valve not opening. With winter nights here averaging 23°F, a furnace stuck on cold air needs a contractor out soon.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out or drifted out of position. The thermocouple sits in the pilot flame and signals the gas valve to stay open. When it fails, the valve shuts the gas off as soon as you let go of the pilot button, even though the flame looked fine. A draft blowing the pilot out, or a dirty pilot orifice, can cause the same thing. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it if it's worn.