Furnace Repair in Dubuque, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dubuque County will get in touch.
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Eight months of Dubuque winter wears a furnace down
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months out of the year. On winter nights that average 15°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Every start puts load on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit.
Dubuque County has seen 24 winter storms and 118 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Wind like that can snuff a pilot or knock out power, and in Iowa last year 15% of households lost power for a day or more. Most gas furnaces, and 71.2% of homes here heat with gas, need electricity to run the blower and ignition even when the gas itself is on. When the power drops on a night this cold, the heat drops with it.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 71%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 24 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $120 a year off heating for a typical Dubuque County home.
Estimates for a typical Dubuque 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 tested this contractor before handing out that license, and the board keeps a record of who holds one. It licenses the contractor as a whole, not the specific repair happening in your furnace, so the license tells you this person met the state's standard, not that this particular job was signed off by anyone.
For a gas furnace, the part that matters most is the gas connection itself, since that is where a mistake turns dangerous. Iowa's licensing is what stands behind the person doing that work. In Dubuque County, most homes heat with gas, which is the kind of furnace this license is backing up.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- The most common reason is the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way you think it is, so check that it's set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature. If that's fine, look at your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Many furnaces also have a power switch that looks like a regular light switch, often near the unit itself, and it can get bumped off. If power and thermostat both check out, the furnace itself needs a contractor to look at the igniter or the control board.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Furnaces run air through the ducts for a short stretch before the burners heat it up, so a little cool air at startup is normal. If it stays cold the whole cycle, the burners aren't lighting, and that usually traces back to the igniter, the flame sensor, or a gas supply problem. A dirty filter can also choke off airflow enough that the furnace overheats and shuts the burners off as a safety measure while the blower keeps running. With winter lows here averaging 15°F, a furnace that won't actually heat needs attention fast rather than a wait and see approach.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This almost always means the thermocouple has worn out or isn't positioned right in the flame. Its job is to sense that the pilot is burning and keep the gas valve open, and once it fails, the valve reads no flame and shuts the gas off even when the pilot is lit. A draft blowing out the pilot is possible too, but if it keeps happening after you relight it, the thermocouple is the more likely cause. This is a gas component, so it should be replaced by a licensed contractor rather than adjusted on your own.