Furnace Repair in Des Moines, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Polk County will get in touch.
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Eight months of Iowa winter puts real wear on your furnace
From October through May, your furnace is the thing standing between your house and 16°F nights. That is eight months of the year, more than any other system in your home gets asked to do. Every one of those nights, the burner cycles on and off many times to hold the temperature, and each start is a little more wear on the igniter and the components that get it lit.
Polk County also sees its share of winter storms and wind, and the power grid here is not immune. When the power drops, so does your furnace, even if the gas is still on. When it comes back, most furnaces restart on their own, but if something was already wearing thin, a power blink can be what finally keeps it from lighting again.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 66%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 21 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $110 a year off heating for a typical Polk County home.
Estimates for a typical Polk 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 state tests the contractor and keeps a record of the license, but that license belongs to the business, not to any single job. So the credential you're checking is the contractor's, and it should already be in place before your furnace ever comes up.
For a gas furnace repair, the dangerous part is the gas connection itself, and that's exactly what a licensed contractor in Iowa has been tested on. In Polk County, where most homes heat with gas, that connection is the thing worth getting right the first time.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat and set a few degrees above room temperature, and check that it has power if it runs on batteries. If the thermostat looks right, check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch on or near the unit, and check that the breaker for the furnace hasn't tripped. Gas furnaces also need the pilot lit or the igniter working, and a safety switch on the door panel will stop the furnace if the panel isn't seated right. If none of that gets it running, the problem is likely inside the unit, and a licensed contractor can find out which part has failed.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most of the time this means the blower is running but the burners haven't lit. A dirty flame sensor is a common reason for that, since it tells the furnace to shut off gas flow if it can't confirm a flame, even when the igniter is working fine. It can also mean the thermostat fan setting is on "on" instead of "auto", which runs the blower even between heating cycles. If the air was warm and turned cold partway through a cycle, that points to the furnace shutting itself off partway through, which a contractor should look at before you run it again.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This is almost always the thermocouple, a small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to stay open. When it wears out or sits out of position, the valve closes and the flame goes out, sometimes right after you relight it. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out, so check that the area around the furnace isn't getting airflow from a nearby vent or door. If you've reset it and it still won't hold, the thermocouple likely needs replacing, and that's a job for a licensed contractor since it involves the gas valve.