HVAC Repair in Wheatland, WY
Homes here need heat from September through May and cooling from July through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Platte County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, two of cooling
Your furnace in Wheatland works September through May. On nights averaging 16°F, it cycles on and off for hours to hold the house steady, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the ignition control. That is most of the year spent asking the same parts to fire again and again.
Summer only asks two months of your air conditioner, July and August, with afternoons near 84°F. A system that sits idle that long can stall on the first hot day, especially if the capacitor or contactor weakened over the winter. Platte County has also logged 173 winter storms and 563 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and wind that strong can knock a system's power out mid-cycle.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 84°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 Platte County home.
Estimates for a typical Platte County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Wyoming 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.
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat, the temperature is set above room temperature, and the batteries aren't dead. If that's not it, check your breaker panel and the furnace's own power switch, since a tripped breaker or a switch bumped off will stop the furnace cold. Gas furnaces also have a pilot light or igniter that can fail, and a dirty filter can choke off airflow badly enough that the system shuts itself down to protect the heat exchanger. With winter lows here averaging 16°F, a furnace that's down for more than a few hours is worth calling in a contractor for rather than waiting it out.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The blower running without cool air usually points to one of a few things. A dirty filter blocks airflow across the coil, and when airflow drops too low the coil can freeze up and stop cooling the air passing over it. Low refrigerant from a leak will do the same thing, and it won't fix itself since refrigerant doesn't get used up, only lost. If the outdoor unit's fan isn't spinning, the compressor can overheat and shut down on its own protection. Check the filter first since that's the one thing you can rule out yourself before calling for repair.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings first, including the batteries if it has any. Check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker and look for a power switch near the furnace or air handler that may have been switched off. Pull the filter and look at it in the light. If you can't see light through it, replace it before doing anything else. Outside, make sure nothing is blocking the outdoor unit, since leaves, snow, or a fence too close can restrict the airflow it needs to work. If none of that explains it, a contractor will need to look at the system directly to find the actual problem.