Furnace Repair in Newton, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Jasper County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat puts real wear on a Newton furnace
Your furnace runs from October through May here, eight months of the year. On winter nights that average 16°F, it is not just running, it is working hard, cycling on and off again and again to hold the house at temperature.
Each start puts a small strain on the igniter and the burner. Over eight months of cold, that adds up. And Jasper County has seen 20 winter storms and 39 damaging wind events over the past ten years, the kind of weather that knocks out power. When the power drops, most furnaces come back on by themselves once it returns, but a furnace that was already struggling may not restart the way it should.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 56%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 20 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 Jasper County home.
Estimates for a typical Jasper 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.
Iowa's license is held by the contractor, not tied to any single job. The same license that qualifies someone to repair a furnace in Newton covers them anywhere else in the state, and it comes from the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board.
For a furnace repair, that license is the thing accountable for the work. Gas furnace repair means the burner and gas connection have to be right, since a bad connection is what makes the job dangerous. In Jasper County, 56% of homes heat with gas, so that connection is part of most furnace repairs done here.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or power isn't reaching the furnace. Check that the thermostat is set below room temperature and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Next check the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. If those are fine, the igniter or a safety switch inside the furnace may have failed, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to open up and test.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Check your thermostat fan setting first. If it's set to "on" instead of "auto", the blower runs constantly and pushes air that hasn't been heated between cycles. If the setting is right and you're still getting cold air, the burners may not be igniting even though the blower runs, which points to a gas valve or igniter problem. A dirty filter can also choke airflow enough to trip the furnace's safety limit and shut the burners off while the fan keeps going. With winter lows here averaging 16°F, cold air blowing instead of warm is worth having looked at the same day.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- The thermocouple is the usual cause. It's a small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve it's safe to keep sending gas. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads the flame as out even when it isn't, and the valve shuts down the gas. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot opening can also snuff the flame out. A contractor can test the thermocouple and replace it, since this isn't something to keep relighting on your own once it happens repeatedly.