Furnace Repair in Weirton, WV
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hancock County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat puts real wear on a furnace
From October through May your furnace is the only thing standing between you and a 23°F night. That is eight months of the burner cycling on and off, and every start puts a little more wear on the igniter and the parts that control it. Most homes in this area heat with gas, so when the igniter or the flame sensor finally gives out, the furnace won't fire at all and the house starts cooling fast.
Hancock County has seen 7 winter storms and 52 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across West Virginia over a third of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. When the power drops on a cold night, a gas furnace with an electronic igniter needs that power back to relight. If it doesn't come back on its own once the lights do, that's a sign something inside needs a look.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 23°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 65%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 7 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $190 a year off heating for a typical Hancock County home.
Estimates for a typical Hancock County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, West Virginia 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.
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
West Virginia tests contractors before they get this license, and the Commissioner of Labor keeps the record of who holds one. It covers the contractor as a whole, not the specific job at your house, so it tells you this person or company has met the state's standard, not that this particular repair has been inspected.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work. A gas furnace depends on a sound connection to the gas line, and that's the part where a mistake turns dangerous, so the license matters here more than it might for smaller work. Most homes in Hancock County heat with gas, which is exactly why the state put a tested, licensed contractor between homeowners and that connection.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat and the setting is above room temperature, and make sure it has power if it runs on batteries. If that's fine, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, sometimes it gets bumped off. Gas furnaces also won't start if the pilot is out or the igniter has failed, and a clogged filter can trip a safety switch that shuts the whole thing down. If you've checked all that and it still won't fire, a contractor needs to look at it, especially with winter lows here averaging 23°F.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit, or haven't lit yet. A furnace blows air for a short stretch before the burners kick in, so a few seconds of cool air is normal. If it keeps blowing cold the whole time it runs, the igniter or flame sensor may have failed, or the gas valve isn't opening. A dirty filter can also cause this by making the furnace overheat and shut the burners off while the blower keeps going. Since homes here need heat from October through May, it's worth having this checked before the next cold stretch rather than living with it.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame and tells the gas valve to stay open. When it wears out or gets coated in soot, it can't sense the flame properly and the gas shuts off even though the pilot is lit. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can also cause it. This isn't something to keep relighting on your own for weeks at a time, especially with winter nights here averaging 23°F, so have a contractor replace the part if relighting it doesn't hold.