How Much Does Furnace Ignitor Replacement Cost?

Updated on October 6, 2026 | Written by Alec Pow
This article was researched using 7 sources. See our methodology and corrections policy.

Replacing a furnace ignitor typically costs about $100 to $250 for a normal scheduled professional repair. In higher-cost markets, with OEM parts, or when the technician is called after hours, the bill can rise to $300 to $500.

The ignitor itself is usually inexpensive. Universal hot-surface ignitors commonly cost about $15 to $35, while OEM furnace ignitors often cost $20 to $100. Most of the final invoice comes from the service call, diagnosis, labor, travel, and any emergency surcharge.

The most important cost question is whether the ignitor is actually the failed part. A furnace that never ignites may have an ignitor problem, but a furnace that lights and then shuts down after a few seconds more often points toward the flame sensor, gas supply, grounding, control board, or another combustion-safety issue.

Article Highlights

• A normal professional furnace ignitor replacement costs about $100 to $250 (at $30 per hour, earning that amount would take about 0.4 to 1 full-time workdays, before taxes).
• Angi’s 2026 furnace-repair data puts ignitor replacement around $150 to $250 for standard service.
• Emergency or after-hours replacement can reach $350 to $500.
• The ignitor part itself commonly costs just $15 to $100, depending on universal vs OEM.
• A current OEM Lennox hot-surface ignitor retails around $97, while a current Trane OEM example is around $47 to $53.
• If the burners ignite and then shut off after a few seconds, the flame sensor may be the real problem.
• Modern hot-surface ignitors can use silicon carbide or stronger silicon nitride materials, so lifespan varies by design and cycling.
• If your furnace is already near replacement age and needs multiple expensive repairs, compare the repair bill with the cost of a new furnace before spending more.

How Much Does Furnace Ignitor Replacement Cost?

For most homeowners, a realistic 2026 budget is:

Repair situation	Typical cost
Ignitor part only	$15-$100 (about 0.5 to 3.3 hours of work at $30 per hour)
Standard professional replacement	$100-$250
Higher-cost market / OEM part	$200-$350
Emergency or after-hours replacement	$350-$500
Diagnostic/service call without repair	Often $80-$150+

Current HomeGuide furnace-ignitor pricing puts the national average at $175, with most professional replacements between $100 and $250. Its part-only range is about $20-$50, although OEM parts can reach $100.

Angi’s September 2026 furnace-repair data puts standard ignitor replacement around $150-$250. The same source notes that emergency service can raise the repair to approximately $350-$500.

That makes the previous article’s blanket $300-$500 estimate too high for a routine scheduled repair, though it can still be realistic for emergency service.

Part vs Labor

The replacement part is rarely the expensive piece of the job.

HomeGuide currently estimates:

• Universal hot-surface ignitor: $15-$35 (about 0.5 to 1.2 hours of work at $30 per hour)
• OEM hot-surface ignitor: $20-$100
• Spark ignitor: $15-$60
• Labor: about $80-$200

Current retail examples show how much OEM pricing varies by furnace.

A genuine Lennox 70W16 hot-surface ignitor currently sells for about $97.37 through SupplyHouse. A genuine Trane IGN00054 furnace ignitor is currently listed around $47-$53 through RepairClinic, depending on model application.

So a $225 service invoice does not mean the contractor installed a $225 part. The customer is also paying for diagnosis, travel, insurance, technician time, tools, overhead, warranty handling, and the service company’s availability.

A $175 Repair Example

Consider a straightforward scheduled repair using a $45 ignitor.

Line item	Illustrative cost
Ignitor	$45
Diagnostic/service-call portion	$85
Replacement labor	$45
Total	$175

That matches HomeGuide’s current national-average figure.

The part represents only:

$45 ÷ $175 = 25.7%

of the final bill.

In this example, nearly three-quarters of the invoice is the cost of getting a qualified technician to diagnose and complete the repair rather than the ignitor itself.

What an Ignitor Does

Modern gas furnaces normally use electronic ignition instead of a continuously burning pilot light.

A hot-surface ignitor heats until it is hot enough to ignite the gas entering the burner assembly. Carrier describes the component as part of the furnace’s ignition sequence and notes that a failed ignitor can prevent the burners from lighting at all.

Hot-surface ignitors can be made from materials such as silicon carbide or silicon nitride. Current Kyocera silicon-nitride ignitors, for example, can reach approximately 1,000°C in about two seconds and are designed for repeated ignition cycles.

CoorsTek’s hot-surface ignitor specifications show why furnace ignitors should not be treated as interchangeable parts. Different models use different voltages, resistance ranges, warm-up times, and ceramic materials.

Ignitor or Flame Sensor?

This is one of the most important corrections to the older version of this article.

A failed ignitor and a failed flame sensor can both produce a no-heat call, but their symptoms are different.

Symptom	More likely issue
Ignitor never glows on a hot-surface system	Ignitor, wiring, control or power issue
Repeated clicking but no ignition on spark system	Spark ignition, gas or control issue
Burners ignite and then shut off in a few seconds	Often flame-sensor related
Furnace repeatedly retries and locks out	Multiple possible ignition/combustion faults

Carrier’s flame-sensor guidance says a dirty or failed flame sensor commonly causes the burners to ignite and then shut down within a few seconds because the furnace cannot verify that combustion is occurring.

Trane gives similar guidance in its furnace troubleshooting information.

That means replacing an ignitor just because the furnace short-cycles can waste money if the actual failed component is the flame sensor or something else.

Why Diagnosis Matters

Ignition problems can also come from:

• Flame sensor failure
• Gas valve problems
• Dirty or restricted burners
• Pressure-switch faults
• Draft inducer problems
• Control-board failure
• Wiring or grounding faults
• Gas-supply issues

Angi’s current 2026 repair data shows why an accurate diagnosis matters financially. A flame sensor repair typically costs around $150-$250, while a control board can cost $200-$600 and a gas valve about $200-$600.

Paying to replace the wrong $50 ignitor does not solve a $400 control-board problem.

Emergency Pricing

The same ignitor can produce two very different invoices depending on when it fails.

Suppose a normal scheduled replacement costs $200, but an overnight emergency call costs $425.

The premium is:

$425 – $200 = $225

That is a:

$225 ÷ $200 = 112.5%

increase even though the failed part itself has not changed.

This is why emergency availability, weekend timing, freezing weather, and travel can matter more to the final repair price than the ignitor’s retail cost.

Warranty Coverage

Check your furnace warranty before paying full retail for an OEM ignitor.

Manufacturer parts warranties can sometimes cover a failed component while leaving the homeowner responsible for the service call and labor. Coverage depends on the furnace model, registration status, installation date, warranty terms, and cause of failure.

Do not assume that “under warranty” means the repair is free.

A $70 covered ignitor with $175 in diagnostic and labor charges can still leave the homeowner with most of the normal repair bill.

The Hidden Price

Misdiagnosis is the biggest hidden cost. Replacing an ignitor when the flame sensor, control board, gas valve, or wiring is actually at fault creates another service call.

After-hours service can add more to the bill than the replacement part costs.

Older furnaces can complicate parts sourcing. An exact OEM ignitor may be discontinued or replaced by a retrofit kit, which can cost more and require additional installation work.

Repeated ignition failure may indicate another problem. An ignitor that repeatedly fails deserves investigation rather than endless replacement.

Multiple furnace repairs can change the repair-vs-replace calculation. If an aging furnace also needs a control board, blower, heat exchanger, or other expensive work, compare the cumulative bill with our guide to furnace replacement costs.

Repair or Replace?

An ignitor replacement by itself is normally a repair worth making.

If a furnace is otherwise in good condition, spending $150-$250 to restore heat is minor compared with spending several thousand dollars on an entirely new furnace.

The decision becomes less obvious when the equipment is old and several components are failing.

For example:

Repair	Example cost
Ignitor	$200
Control board	$450
Draft inducer	$700
Combined repair exposure	$1,350

At that point, the owner is no longer deciding whether a $200 ignitor repair is worthwhile. The real decision is whether another $1,350 should go into an aging furnace.

Airflow problems can also increase strain on a heating system, so homeowners dealing with damaged ducts can compare our guide to HVAC duct replacement costs. If a technician discovers related cooling-side problems during a combination HVAC inspection, our AC evaporator coil replacement guide covers another major system repair.

DIY vs Professional

An ignitor can look like a simple plug-and-screw component, which is why replacement parts are widely available online.

But a furnace is a gas-burning appliance combining fuel, combustion, line voltage, controls, and safety interlocks. The correct replacement must match the furnace’s requirements and be installed in the proper location and orientation.

Even manufacturer replacement instructions emphasize exact positioning and careful handling. Resideo’s instructions for its Q4100C hot-surface ignitor specify matching the original orientation, preventing the ignitor element from contacting the burner or appliance, and handling the assembly by its ceramic block or bracket rather than the fragile element.

NFPA guidance also says manufacturer installation and operating instructions should be used when checking whether a gas appliance is installed and operating safely.

For those reasons, homeowners who are uncertain about the diagnosis, wiring, gas appliance safety, or correct part should use a qualified HVAC technician rather than experimenting on the furnace.

What We Verified

We checked current 2026 national furnace-repair pricing, part-only pricing, OEM retail examples, furnace-manufacturer diagnostic guidance, hot-surface ignitor manufacturer specifications, gas-appliance safety guidance, and current repair-vs-replacement pricing.

Several points from the previous article needed correction:

• A routine ignitor replacement is usually closer to $100-$250 than $300-$500.
• $300-$500 is more appropriate for certain high-cost or emergency service calls.
• Burners that ignite and then shut down after a few seconds more strongly suggest a flame-sensor issue than an ignitor failure.
• Ignitor parts commonly cost $15-$100, not $50-$300 in most ordinary residential applications.
• There is no defensible universal rule that all furnace ignitors last exactly 5-10 years.
• Ignitor life depends on ceramic type, operating voltage, cycling, furnace design, electrical conditions, handling, and other factors.
• The older detailed DIY instructions were removed because diagnosing and servicing a gas furnace involves combustion and electrical safety considerations.

How Long Do Ignitors Last?

There is no manufacturer-wide replacement interval for furnace ignitors.

Older silicon-carbide hot-surface ignitors are relatively brittle. Newer silicon-nitride designs are significantly more resistant to cracking and thermal shock.

Kyocera says silicon nitride has more than twice the fracture toughness of silicon carbide and emphasizes its durability through repeated rapid ignition cycles.

That makes a simple “replace every seven years” recommendation misleading.

An ignitor should be replaced when it fails or tests outside the furnace manufacturer’s specifications, not solely because it has reached an arbitrary age.

Answers to Common Questions

How much does a furnace ignitor replacement cost?
A normal professional furnace ignitor replacement usually costs about $100-$250. Higher local labor rates, OEM parts, difficult access, or emergency service can raise the bill to $300-$500.

How much does the furnace ignitor itself cost?
Many universal hot-surface ignitors cost about $15-$35. OEM parts commonly cost $20-$100, although specialty assemblies can cost more.

How do I know whether the ignitor is bad?
A hot-surface ignitor that does not glow during the ignition sequence can indicate an ignitor problem, but wiring, controls, or power can cause the same symptom. A professional diagnosis is useful before replacing parts.

What if the furnace lights and then shuts off?
That symptom often points toward the flame sensor rather than the ignitor. Carrier and Trane both identify a faulty or dirty flame sensor as a common cause of burners shutting down shortly after ignition.

How long should a furnace ignitor last?
There is no reliable universal lifespan. Some operate for many years while others fail sooner. Material, ignition cycles, voltage, furnace design, and operating conditions all affect durability.

Is it worth replacing an ignitor on an old furnace?
Usually yes if the ignitor is the only problem because the repair is relatively inexpensive. If the furnace also needs several other major repairs, compare the combined repair cost with full furnace replacement.

Can a furnace ignitor be covered by warranty?
Possibly. Some furnace parts warranties cover the component but not diagnosis, travel, or installation labor. Check the exact manufacturer’s warranty for your model and registration status.