HVAC Repair in Ames, IA
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from June through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Story County will get in touch.
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Story County asks a lot of your system, most of the year
Your furnace runs October through May here, 8 months a year. On nights that average 14 degrees, it has to run long and often just to hold the house steady. That kind of demand wears on the igniter and the heat exchanger, and by the coldest part of winter a furnace with a weak part tends to show it, either refusing to light or blowing air that never gets warm.
Summer is shorter, just June through August, but afternoons averaging 82 degrees still push the air conditioner hard for those three months. The system gets little real rest between seasons. Story County has also seen 82 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and wind like that can loosen an outdoor unit's wiring or panel, which shows up as a unit that will not start at all.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $120 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Story County home.
Estimates for a typical Story 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.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
Iowa requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board issues that license, and it tests the contractor before granting it. What is on file is the contractor, not each job. So the license tells you the person or business behind the work has met the state's standard, not that this particular repair was checked by anyone.
For a heating and cooling repair in Story County, that state license is what stands behind the person doing the work, since Iowa's rule covers the contractor rather than the job itself.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most of the time it comes down to the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature first. If it's a gas furnace, a pilot light that won't stay lit or an igniter that won't glow both point to the same failure, the furnace not getting the flame it needs to run. At 14°F on a winter night here, a furnace that won't fire is not something to wait out, so if the basics check out and it still won't run, it needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If air is moving but it's not cold, the most common causes are a dirty filter, a blocked outdoor unit, or low refrigerant. A filter clogged with dust cuts off the airflow the system needs to pull heat out of your house, so check that first since it's the one thing you can fix yourself. Outside, make sure nothing is stacked against the condenser unit or blocking the fan. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and you're still not getting cold air, the system likely has a refrigerant leak or a failing component, and that's a contractor's job to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to the right mode, the temperature is set where you want it, and the batteries aren't dead if it uses them. Next, check the filter, a dirty one can choke off airflow enough to stop a furnace or air conditioner from working right. Then check the breaker box, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down with no other warning. If your system runs on gas, make sure the gas is on and any switch near the furnace hasn't been bumped off. None of this costs anything to check, and if the system still isn't working after you've gone through it, that's the point to call a contractor.