Furnace Repair in Waukee, IA
Furnaces here run from October through May. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Dallas County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat puts real wear on your furnace
Waukee needs a working furnace from October through May. That's eight months of the year the burner is lighting and the blower is running, night after night down to lows around 15°F. A furnace built for occasional use gets no such break here.
All that cycling wears on the igniter first. It lights the burner dozens of times a day through the cold months, and each light is a small strain on it. When it finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all. Add in the wind. Dallas County has logged 96 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and wind that strong can push cold air back through the flue or blow out a pilot light on an older unit. With 15% of Iowa households losing power for a day or more last year, it's also worth knowing that most furnaces need electricity to run the blower and controls, so a power outage means no heat even if the furnace itself is fine.
- 8 months
- October through May, your furnace is on duty
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 59%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 19 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 Dallas County home.
Estimates for a typical Dallas 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 is held by the contractor, not tied to your address or to this specific repair. Iowa's Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board tests and records the contractor before that license is issued, so the state has already checked their qualifications before they ever get to your furnace.
For a furnace repair, that license is what stands behind the work. A furnace burns gas, and a loose connection or a bad seal on the line is the real danger in a job like this. The same board that licenses the contractor is the authority behind that part of the work, which matters in a county like Dallas, where most homes, nearly six in ten, heat with gas.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Usually the thermostat is not sending power, or the furnace is not getting gas or electricity to the ignition system. Check that the thermostat has fresh batteries and is set to heat, and check the breaker and the furnace's own power switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. If those are fine, the igniter or the flame sensor may have failed, and a licensed contractor will need to test them.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often the blower is running but the burners have not lit, so air is moving through the ducts without being heated. This can happen if the igniter is worn out, the flame sensor is dirty, or the gas valve is not opening. It can also mean the furnace is stuck in a safety shutdown after overheating. A contractor can tell which one it is by watching the furnace try to start.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- Newer furnaces do not use a standing pilot light at all, they use an electronic igniter, so if yours keeps going out it is likely a hot surface igniter or flame sensor problem rather than a true pilot issue. On older furnaces with an actual pilot, the flame usually goes out because the thermocouple has worn out and shuts off the gas as a safety measure, or because the pilot orifice is dirty. Either way this is not something to keep relighting on your own, since it points to a part that needs replacing.