HVAC Repair in Woodbury, MN
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 Washington County will get in touch.
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Eight months of heat, three of cooling, and not much rest between
Your furnace in Woodbury runs from October through May. On nights that average 10°F, it cycles on and off for hours to keep up, and every start puts a little more wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those parts finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all, and you find out on the coldest night of the year.
Come June, the same system has to switch over and cool the house through afternoons averaging 80°F, and it only gets three months to do it before heat comes back into the picture. That short season doesn't spare the parts. A refrigerant leak or a failing capacitor shows up as warm air blowing from the vents or a unit that won't start at all. Add in the winter storms and wind that knock out power across this part of Minnesota, and a furnace or AC that loses power sometimes doesn't come back on right when it returns.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $130 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Washington County home.
Estimates for a typical Washington 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.
With no state license or registration, Minnesota keeps no record of who does this work. There is no test a contractor had to pass and no state file with their name on it before they show up at your door.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that means the license itself is not what stands behind the work here, because there is none. Whatever protection exists on this job comes from somewhere other than a state credential.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why is my heat not working?
- The most common reason is the igniter has failed or the flame sensor is dirty, both of which stop a gas furnace from lighting even though the blower still runs. A tripped breaker or a thermostat set wrong or out of batteries can also do it, so check those first. At 10 below zero on a winter night here, a furnace that will not light needs a contractor out fast, since space heaters and a cold house are not a safe way to wait it out.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Warm air blowing from the vents usually means low refrigerant from a leak, a frozen evaporator coil, or a condenser coil outside caked with dirt and cut grass. A dirty air filter can also choke airflow enough to ice up the coil, so check that first since it is the one thing you can fix yourself. If the filter is clean and air is still weak or warm, the system needs a contractor to find where the cooling is being lost.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the air filter first and replace it if it is gray or clogged, since restricted airflow causes both weak heat and weak cooling. Check the thermostat next, make sure it is set to heat or cool as needed and has fresh batteries if it takes them. Then check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since a furnace or air conditioner that will not start at all is sometimes just that. If all three check out and the system still is not working, a contractor will need to look at it, since Minnesota does not license HVAC contractors and it is worth asking about their experience and insurance before they come out.