Furnace Repair in Marshalltown, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Marshall County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat puts real wear on a furnace
From October through May your furnace is the thing standing between you and a 14 degree night. That is eight months of the burner lighting and shutting off, over and over, to hold the house at temperature. Every one of those cycles puts a little more wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, and those are the parts most likely to fail on you when the cold snaps hardest.
Marshall County has seen 21 winter storms and 65 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. Most furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls even if the heat itself is gas, so a power outage means no heat regardless of what is in the tank. Across Iowa, 15% of households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. If your furnace will not start after the lights come back on, that is worth checking before you assume the worst.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 58%
- 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 Marshall County home.
Estimates for a typical Marshall 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.
That license comes from the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, and it covers the contractor rather than the specific job. The board has tested the contractor and keeps a record of them, so the license travels with the person or business doing the work, not with any single furnace repair.
For a furnace repair, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since a bad one is what turns a repair into a hazard. In Iowa, the contractor doing that work is the one the state has licensed, so the person handling the gas connection is already accountable to the board that tested them. Gas heat runs nearly six in ten Marshall County homes, which puts most furnace repairs here under that same license.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most of the time it's the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, and check the breaker for the furnace. If those are fine, the igniter may have failed, which a contractor can test and replace. With lows here averaging 14°F in the dead of winter, it's worth having this checked the same day rather than waiting.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The furnace may just be starting a cycle, when it runs air through before the burners kick in. If cold air keeps coming, the igniter or flame sensor could be failing, so the blower runs but nothing lights. A dirty filter can also cause this by making the furnace shut off its burners to avoid overheating. A contractor can tell which one it is.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple has worn out. That's the small sensor that tells the gas valve the pilot is burning, and once it fails, the valve shuts off the gas as a safety measure. Drafts or a dirty pilot opening can also blow it out. A contractor can replace the thermocouple, which is a common and inexpensive part on older furnaces with a standing pilot.