Furnace Repair in Pella, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Marion County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, and nights near 17 degrees
Your furnace in Pella works from October through May. That's eight months of the year it has to come on, night after night, with winter lows that average 17°F. On the coldest nights it runs long and it runs often, lighting the burner again and again to keep the house warm.
All that cycling wears on the igniter first. A furnace that won't light, or lights and then shuts back down, is usually telling you the igniter or the flame sensor has had enough. Marion County has seen 20 winter storms and 79 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that mean power drops. Most furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so when the power comes back, check that your furnace has restarted on its own.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 60%
- 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 $100 a year off heating for a typical Marion County home.
Estimates for a typical Marion 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 license comes from the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, and it belongs to the contractor rather than to any single job. That means the person or company working on your furnace was tested and is on record with the state before they ever walked into your house.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work. A gas furnace depends on a tight connection at the gas line, and the same license that qualifies a contractor to work on your furnace is what the state uses to hold them to that standard. In Marion County, most homes heat with gas, so that connection is the part of this repair worth caring about most.
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, or a safety switch has shut the furnace down. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, and check the breaker and the furnace's power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. If the filter is clogged, the furnace can overheat and shut itself off as a safety measure. If power, thermostat and filter all check out, a contractor will need to look at the ignition system or the control board.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- The furnace usually takes a minute or two to warm up before the blower starts pushing out heat, so cold air right when it kicks on is normal. If it blows cold the whole time it runs, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing, which stops the burners from lighting while the blower keeps running anyway. A cracked heat exchanger or a gas supply problem can also cause this. With winter lows here averaging 17°F, a furnace that won't actually heat needs attention quickly, so have a contractor check it before you're stuck without heat overnight.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- A pilot light that won't stay lit is almost always the thermocouple, the small sensor that tells the gas valve the flame is burning. When it wears out or sits out of position, it reads the flame as out and shuts the gas off even though the pilot is lit. A draft blowing across the pilot or a dirty pilot orifice can cause the same thing. Since 60.1% of homes in Marion County heat with gas, this is a common call for a contractor here, and replacing the thermocouple usually solves it.