Furnace Repair in Sioux City, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Woodbury County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat puts a lot of hours on your furnace
From October through May your furnace is the thing standing between you and a house that averages 14°F outside at night. That's eight months of the burner cycling on and off, night after night, to hold the temperature you set. Each start puts wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit.
Woodbury County has seen 23 winter storms and 88 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and across Iowa, 15% of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. When the power drops on a cold night, a gas furnace with electronic ignition won't restart on its own, and most homes here heat with gas. If your furnace won't fire back up after the lights flicker, that's usually why.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 60%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 23 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 Woodbury County home.
Estimates for a typical Woodbury 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 license is held by the contractor, not tied to your furnace or your address. The Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board tested that contractor and keeps a record of them, and that record follows them from job to job, not just this one.
For a furnace repair, the gas connection is the part that matters most, since a bad one is where the danger is. In Woodbury County, close to six in ten homes heat with gas, so this kind of repair is common 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 calls for a contractor to check.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- If air is blowing but not warming up, the furnace may be running its fan without the burners lighting. That points to an ignition problem or a flame sensor that shut the burners off after they lit. It can also mean the thermostat fan setting is on instead of auto, which runs air between heat cycles. If the thermostat is set right and cold air keeps coming, a contractor needs to look at the ignition system.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- This usually means the thermocouple, the small part that senses the pilot flame and tells the gas valve to stay open, is worn out or dirty. A draft blowing across the pilot can also blow it out repeatedly. Less often the gas supply itself is the problem. A contractor can test the thermocouple and relight the pilot correctly, since this involves the gas line.