Furnace Repair in Burlington, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Des Moines County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and nights near 19 degrees
Burlington needs a working furnace from October through May, eight months of the year. On winter nights averaging 19°F, the burner is firing over and over to keep the house at temperature, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. Those are usually the first parts to fail, and when they do, the furnace either won't light or shuts off soon after it does.
Most homes here heat with gas, so a furnace that won't stay lit means no heat at all, not a house that just runs cooler. The ten years of storm records for this area show 17 winter storms and 88 damaging wind events, the kind of weather that knocks out power along with it. In Iowa, 15% of households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024. A gas furnace needs electricity to run its blower and controls, so when the power goes out in the cold, the furnace goes down with it.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 68%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 17 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 Des Moines County home.
Estimates for a typical Des Moines County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Iowa 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.
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license is held by the contractor, not tied to your specific repair, so the state has already tested and recorded who is showing up to work on your furnace before this job ever came up. It's issued through the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, which is the body that checks the contractor's qualifications and keeps that record on file.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work. A gas connection is the part of the job where a mistake matters most, and in a state that licenses the contractor doing it, that license is the accountability for getting it right. Gas heat is common here, with 67.5% of homes in Des Moines County running on it, so this is the rule most furnace repairs in the county fall under.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, since a setting bumped by accident is the simplest explanation. Check the power switch on the furnace itself, which looks like a light switch on or near the unit, and check the breaker it runs on. If those are fine, look at the filter. A filter packed with dust can block airflow enough that the furnace shuts itself down before it starts. Beyond that, the ignition system or a safety switch may be holding it off, and that calls for a contractor licensed through the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board to look at it directly.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. The blower can kick on to circulate air before the flame is established, so a few seconds of cool air at startup is normal. If it keeps blowing air that never warms up, the igniter may be failing to light the gas, or a safety switch may be cutting the burners off after ignition. A dirty flame sensor causes this too, since it can't confirm the flame is burning and shuts the gas valve as a precaution. With winter nights here averaging 19°F, a furnace stuck on cold air needs attention quickly, and a licensed contractor can tell you which part is at fault.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually comes down to the thermocouple, the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to stay open. When it wears out or gets coated in soot, it can't read the flame properly, so the gas valve closes and the pilot goes out. A draft blowing across the pilot can also snuff it out, so check that any nearby vents or gaps aren't sending air across it. If you relight it and it goes out again within a minute or two, the thermocouple is the likely cause, and it's a part a licensed HVAC contractor can test and replace.