HVAC Repair in Custer, SD
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 Custer County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, then two hard months of cooling
Your furnace in Custer County works from September through May, and on winter nights that average 15°F it runs long and often to keep up. That kind of cold puts real strain on the igniter and the heat exchanger, the parts that carry the load every time the burner cycles. When one of them wears out, you will notice the house losing ground overnight even with the thermostat set the same as always.
Come July and August, the same system has to switch gears and cool the house through afternoons near 81°F. A unit that spent nine months heating does not get much of a break before it is asked to do the opposite job. On top of that, Custer County has seen 125 winter storms and 158 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and that kind of weather can knock out power or throw debris at an outdoor unit, so a system already worn from long months of use is more likely to fail right when you need it.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
In South Dakota, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Custer County does not run its own licensing program, so whether a contractor needs a license depends on the city or town the house is in. Some South Dakota towns license HVAC contractors, others don't, and there's no state exam or state list behind any of it either way. What exists is whatever the nearest town decided to require, if anything.
For this repair, that means the license itself is not what stands behind the work here. Refrigerant handling falls under federal rules no matter where the house sits in the county. Gas connections are the part of the job where a bad fitting turns dangerous, and whether anyone checks that depends on what the town where the house sits has decided to require. Outside a town with a rule on the books, there is no state record of the contractor at all.
Source: South Dakota Legislature
- Why is my heat not working?
- The most common cause is the igniter or flame sensor failing, which stops the furnace from lighting even though it still runs. A dirty flame sensor will make the furnace shut off a few seconds after startup, while a bad igniter usually means it never lights at all. A clogged filter can also starve the system of airflow until it shuts down on a safety switch. With winter nights here averaging 15°F, a furnace that won't hold a flame needs a contractor out quickly.
- 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 low refrigerant from a leak, a frozen evaporator coil, or a failing compressor. A dirty air filter or blocked return can also cut off airflow enough that the coil ices over and stops cooling. Check the filter first since that is the one thing you can rule out yourself. Summer afternoons here average 81°F, so a system that is only moving warm air needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge and the coil.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the filter first and replace it if it is dirty, since restricted airflow causes many of the problems that look like bigger failures. Check that the thermostat has power and is set to heat or cool as needed. Check the breaker for the system and any switch near the furnace or air handler that may have been bumped off. If those are all fine and the system still is not working, a contractor will need to look at it directly, since Custer has seen 125 winter storms and 158 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and either can knock out power or damage outdoor equipment in ways only a technician can diagnose.