HVAC Installation in Ottumwa, IA
A new system here will heat from October through May and cool from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers Wapello County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of the year, one of the two is running
Winter nights here average 18°F from December through February, and your furnace has to cover October through May, eight months a year. Summer only asks for three months, June through August, but those afternoons average 83°F, so whatever you install has to handle both ends of the year, not just one.
Wapello County has logged 17 winter storms and 69 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and 15% of Iowa households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A new furnace or air conditioner has to be sized for the cold and heat here, and installed with those storms and outages in mind.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board issues that license, and it covers the contractor, not the job itself. What it tells you is that the state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them, not that this particular installation was checked.
For a heating and cooling installation, most cities and counties require a permit before the work starts and an inspection once it's done. That inspection is what checks the work at this house, separate from whatever the state license already says about the contractor.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Once repairs start happening every year, or the system is old enough that a breakdown is more a matter of when than if. Here, your furnace runs October through May and your air conditioner runs June through August, so a failure in either one leaves you without heat or cooling you actually need that week. If a contractor is quoting you a major repair on a system that's already old and has needed work before, that's usually the point to weigh replacement instead of another repair.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If they're close in age, it's often worth doing together, but it depends on the condition of each unit. A furnace and air conditioner installed at the same time tend to wear out around the same time, so replacing one often means the other isn't far behind. Doing both together also means the coil and furnace are matched to work as one system rather than pairing a new unit with an older one that's already declining. A contractor can look at the age and condition of each and tell you whether it makes sense to do both now or wait on one.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor removes the old equipment, sets the new furnace and or air conditioner, and connects it to your ducts, gas line or electrical circuit, and condensate drain as needed. They'll check the ductwork for leaks or sizing problems, since a new system connected to bad ductwork won't perform the way it should. Once it's running, they test it, check refrigerant charge on an air conditioner, and confirm it's heating or cooling the way it's supposed to. In most cities and counties here, this work needs a permit from the local building office and an inspection when it's done, and the contractor typically handles that step.