Your furnace stopped working and your house is getting cold. Here are the most common causes and what you can do before calling for a repair.
When your furnace stops working during a Nebraska winter, it goes from inconvenient to dangerous fast. Temperatures in the Omaha area regularly drop below zero, and a house without heat can reach freezing conditions in just a few hours. Knowing what to check can help you determine whether it is a quick fix or something that needs a professional.
Start with the basics. Make sure your thermostat is set to HEAT and the target temperature is above the current room temperature. If you have a programmable or smart thermostat, check for scheduled setbacks or energy-saving modes that might be keeping the furnace from turning on. If your thermostat runs on batteries, try replacing them. A dead thermostat battery is one of the most common and easiest to fix causes of a furnace that will not start.
A clogged air filter is the most common cause of furnace problems in Omaha homes. When the filter is dirty, airflow is restricted, which can cause the furnace to overheat and shut itself off as a safety measure. Pull the filter out and check it. If it is visibly dirty or clogged, replace it with a new one and try running the system again. During the heating season, check your filter every 30 days.
Check your electrical panel for a tripped breaker. Even gas furnaces use electricity to power the blower motor, ignitor, and control board. If the breaker has tripped, reset it by flipping it fully off and then back on. If it trips again immediately, stop resetting it and call a technician because there may be an electrical issue that needs professional diagnosis.
If you have a gas furnace, make sure the gas valve near the furnace is in the ON position (the handle should be parallel to the gas line, not perpendicular). Also check that other gas appliances in your home are working. If your stove, water heater, and furnace are all out, the issue may be with your gas supply, not the furnace itself.
Most furnaces have a dedicated power switch that looks like a regular light switch, usually located on or near the furnace or on a nearby wall. It is easy to accidentally bump this off, especially in a crowded utility room or basement. Make sure it is in the ON position.
Modern furnaces use an electronic ignitor (also called a hot surface ignitor) instead of a standing pilot light. When the ignitor fails, the furnace will try to start but will not be able to light the burners. You may hear the furnace click on and the blower run, but no heat comes out. Ignitor replacement is a common and relatively affordable repair, usually in the $150 to $300 range.
The flame sensor is a small rod that sits in the burner flame and tells the control board that the gas has ignited safely. When the sensor gets coated with carbon buildup, it cannot detect the flame and shuts the furnace down as a safety precaution. You might notice the furnace lighting for a few seconds and then shutting off. Cleaning or replacing the flame sensor is a quick fix for a trained technician.
If the furnace lights and heats up but no air comes through your vents, the blower motor may have failed. A failing blower motor often gives warning signs before it dies completely, including unusual noises, intermittent operation, or weak airflow. Blower motor replacement typically runs $300 to $600 depending on the motor type.
This is the most serious furnace problem and a potential safety hazard. A cracked heat exchanger can leak carbon monoxide into your home. Warning signs include a yellow or flickering burner flame (should be steady blue), soot or corrosion around the furnace, or your carbon monoxide detector going off. If you suspect a cracked heat exchanger, turn off the furnace immediately, open windows, and call a professional. This is typically a situation where replacement makes more sense than repair.
Not every furnace problem means you need a new system. Here is how we help our customers decide:
Repair makes sense when: The furnace is less than 15 years old, the repair is a common wear item like an ignitor or flame sensor, the repair cost is well under half the price of replacement, and the system has been otherwise reliable.
Replacement makes sense when: The furnace is 15 to 20 years old or older, you are facing a major repair like a heat exchanger or control board, energy bills have been climbing year over year, or you have needed multiple repairs in the past couple of seasons.
At DL Heating & Cooling, we will always give you an honest recommendation. If a $200 repair will get you several more years of reliable heat, that is what we will tell you. We are not in the business of selling equipment people do not need.
When replacement is the right call, we install Oxbox furnaces as our preferred choice for Omaha homeowners. Oxbox is endorsed by Trane, one of the most respected names in the HVAC industry, and delivers the reliability and performance you would expect from a Trane-backed product at a significantly lower price point.
What makes Oxbox stand out for furnaces:
We service and repair all furnace brands, but when it is time for a new system, Oxbox is what we recommend and what we put in our own homes. Learn more about our heating services →
Most furnace breakdowns are preventable. An annual tune-up before the heating season catches worn parts, dirty components, and small problems before they leave you without heat on the coldest night of the year. Our maintenance service includes inspecting the heat exchanger, cleaning the flame sensor, checking gas pressure, testing safety controls, and ensuring your system is running safely and efficiently.
Ask about our affordable HVAC maintenance plans that cover both your furnace and AC with annual tune-ups and priority service.
Furnace not working? DL Heating & Cooling offers 24/7 emergency furnace repair across the Omaha metro area. We show up fast, diagnose the problem, and give you upfront pricing before we start any work. Call (402) 672-6062 or request a free estimate online.
DL