HVAC Repair in Waukee, 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 Dallas County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, three of cooling, and not much rest between
Your furnace in Waukee works from October through May. On the nights that drop to 15°F, it runs long and it runs often, and every cycle puts another start on the igniter and another load on the blower motor. That is most of the year spent leaning on the same parts.
Summer asks for the opposite job. Afternoons near 83°F mean the air conditioner is the one working, and if it was already carrying wear from winter, that is when a weak capacitor or a low-charge system tends to quit. Dallas County has also logged 19 winter storms and 96 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and power drops with them. Most systems come back on their own once power is restored, but a furnace or air conditioner that was already struggling before the outage often will not.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 15°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 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.
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.
That license comes from the Iowa Plumbing and Mechanical Systems Board, and it is issued to the contractor, not to each job. The state tests and records the business itself, one license per contractor, not a separate one for every furnace or coil that contractor works on.
For a repair like this, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. The contractor your county connects you with should hold that state license before touching your furnace, your coils, or any gas line running to them.
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 set temperature is above the room temperature, and swap the batteries if it has a blank or dim screen. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, sometimes it gets bumped off. A furnace that used to run and now does nothing often has a tripped switch or a flame sensor that needs cleaning, and a licensed contractor can find which one it is.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The system is moving air but the air itself is not cold, which usually points to the refrigerant side or the airflow into the unit. Check the filter first, a clogged one starves the coil and stops it from pulling heat out of the air. Look at the outdoor unit too, if the coil is packed with grass or leaves it cannot shed heat and the house will not cool down even with the fan running. If the filter is clean and the outdoor coil is clear, the system likely needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and batteries first, then the breaker and any power switch near the furnace or outdoor unit. Look at the air filter, a dirty one can cause weak heat, weak cooling, or a system that shuts off on its own. For a gas furnace, check whether the pilot light or igniter display shows an error code, most newer units flash a code you can look up in the manual. If everything there looks normal and the system still is not working, the problem is inside the unit and a licensed contractor will need to diagnose it.