Furnace Repair in Paducah, KY
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers McCracken County will get in touch.
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Seven months of cold nights wear on the igniter
Your furnace runs from October through April here, seven months a year. Winter nights average 29°F, so the burner is not lighting once and holding. It is cycling on and off all night to keep up, and every cycle fires the igniter again.
Just over half of homes in the area heat with gas, and the igniter is usually the first part to give out under that kind of use. When it fails, the burner will not light and the house starts losing heat with no warning. McCracken County has also seen 13 winter storms and 96 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in Kentucky, 24% of households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A furnace does not always come back clean after an outage like that.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 29°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 50%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 13 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $90 a year off heating for a typical McCracken County home.
Estimates for a typical McCracken County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Kentucky 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.
Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tests and records the contractor, not the individual job, so the license tells you the person or business behind the work has met Kentucky's standard, not that this particular repair was checked off by anyone.
For furnace repair, the license is what stands behind the work, but the gas connection is still the part that matters most. A bad connection is the dangerous part of any furnace repair. In McCracken County, just over half of homes heat with gas, so this is a common job, and the license is what you have to go on that the contractor knows how to do it safely.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat, or the furnace isn't getting power. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature. A tripped breaker or a switch on the furnace itself left in the off position will also stop it cold. If those check out, the igniter or a safety switch may be keeping it from starting, and a contractor can test which one it is.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The blower is running but the burners haven't lit, or haven't stayed lit. Furnaces push air through the vents whether or not that air has been heated, so cold air usually points to an ignition problem rather than a duct problem. A dirty flame sensor or a failing igniter are common causes. This is worth having looked at soon, especially with winter lows here averaging 29°F.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A weak or dirty thermocouple is the most common reason a pilot light won't hold. The thermocouple senses the flame and tells the gas valve to stay open, and if it's coated with soot or worn out, it shuts the gas off even though the pilot is burning. A draft blowing across the pilot can also put it out. If relighting it doesn't hold, a contractor will need to check the thermocouple and the gas valve.