HVAC Repair in Ottumwa, 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 Wapello County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work, in the cold and the heat
Your furnace in Ottumwa runs from October through May, eight months of nights that average 18°F. The burner has to light and hold on every one of those nights, and each start puts wear on the igniter. When it finally gives out, it tends to happen on the coldest night, because that is when the furnace is working hardest.
Summer is shorter, three months of afternoons averaging 83°F, and the air conditioner has to keep up with that heat. Between the two seasons, this system carries the house almost all year. Wapello County has also seen 69 damaging wind events and 17 winter storms over the past ten years, and either one can knock out power or bend a fan blade on the outdoor unit. Most furnaces and air conditioners come back on by themselves once power returns, but if a storm has damaged the unit, it needs a look before it runs right again.
- 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
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $120 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Wapello County home.
Estimates for a typical Wapello 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. It belongs to the contractor, not to the job, so the same license covers this repair and whatever job they do next for someone else.
Because Iowa licenses at the state level, that license is what stands behind the work on your heating and cooling system. For a repair like this, the state license is the credential doing the work of accountability.
Sources: Iowa Legislature · Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, since a setting bumped by accident is more common than people expect. If that is fine, check the breaker and the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit. Gas furnaces will not fire if the pilot or igniter has gone out, and yours may show a blinking light on the control board that points to the problem. With winter lows here averaging 18°F, a furnace that will not start is not something to leave for a day. A contractor can read the board's code and tell you what part failed.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air is not cold, the problem is usually with the outdoor unit, the refrigerant charge, or the airflow through the coil. Check your filter first. A filter clogged with dust chokes airflow across the indoor coil, and the system can end up blowing room-temperature air even though nothing else is wrong. If the filter is clean and the air still is not cold, look at the outdoor unit for ice on the coil or a fan that is not turning. Either points to a problem a contractor needs to diagnose, since low refrigerant or a failed compressor are not things you can fix from the outside.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings first, since a system set to the wrong mode or a dead thermostat battery looks like a bigger problem than it is. Next check the breaker box and any power switch on the unit itself. Look at the filter and replace it if it is gray or clogged, since restricted airflow causes problems that look like they come from the equipment itself. If the outdoor unit is covered in leaves or debris, clear the area around it. If none of that explains what you are seeing, a contractor can diagnose the rest.