HVAC Repair in Rochester, MN
Homes here need heat from September through May and cooling from June through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Olmsted County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, and a furnace that never gets a long break
Your furnace in Olmsted County runs from September through May. Winter nights average 10°F from December through February, and a furnace that cold outside cycles on and off for hours to hold the house steady. Every start puts wear on the igniter and the burner, and when one of those fails, you feel it fast.
Summer asks less of the system here. Afternoons average 79°F over June through August, but the air conditioner still has to keep up on the hottest days, and a low refrigerant charge or a weak capacitor tends to show itself right when the cooling matters most. Olmsted County has seen 36 winter storms and 92 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and either one can knock out power long enough to matter when the furnace needs it back to restart.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $140 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Olmsted County home.
Estimates for a typical Olmsted County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota 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.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota does not test HVAC contractors or keep a state record of who is qualified to do this work. There is no license to check and no registration either, so nothing about a contractor's standing with the state can tell you how they will handle your furnace or your AC.
For a repair job like this, that means the protection you'd get from a license somewhere else does not exist here. Whatever confidence you have in the person working on your system has to come from somewhere other than a state record, because Minnesota keeps none for this trade.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat, not cool, and that the temperature you want is above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker and the switch on the furnace itself, since a tripped breaker or a flipped switch will stop it cold. Gas furnaces also have a pilot or an igniter, and if that part has failed the furnace won't light even though the blower and everything else works fine. At 10°F outside overnight, a furnace that won't fire needs attention fast, so if the basics check out and it still won't run, that's a job for a contractor.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The most common reason is a dirty filter choking off airflow. When air can't move through the coil, the system runs but the house doesn't cool down. Check the filter first and replace it if it's gray or clogged. If the filter is clean and the air coming from the vents feels warm or barely moving, the problem could be low refrigerant or a failing part inside the unit, and that needs a contractor to diagnose. Also check that nothing outside is blocking the outdoor unit, since leaves, grass clippings, or anything pressed against it can cut off airflow too.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. 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 breaker panel for a tripped breaker and make sure any power switch on the furnace or outdoor unit hasn't been bumped off. Look at the air filter and replace it if it's dirty, since a clogged filter causes both heating and cooling problems. If the system still isn't working after that, a contractor will need to look at it, and telling them what you already checked will save time on the visit.