HVAC Repair in Sturgis, SD
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 Meade County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, three of cooling, and a lot of wind in between
Your furnace in Sturgis works nine months a year, September through May, and on winter nights that average 12°F it runs long and often. That kind of cold puts real strain on the igniter and the heat exchanger, and a system already worn from the season before is the one that quits on the coldest night.
Summer is short here, just June through August, but afternoons averaging 84°F still push the air conditioner hard for those three months. Meade County has also logged 146 winter storms and 373 damaging wind events over the last ten years. Wind that strong can knock an outdoor condenser out of alignment or drive debris into it, and a hard freeze during a storm is when a struggling furnace finally gives out.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 12°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 $100 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Meade County home.
Estimates for a typical Meade County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, South Dakota 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.
In South Dakota, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Meade County does not run its own licensing exam for HVAC contractors, and South Dakota does not either. Whatever rule applies comes from the city or town where the house sits, and that depends on whether that town has written one. Some towns require a local license before a contractor can do this kind of work. Others do not address it at all. What protection exists depends on the address, not on any statewide standard.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, the gas connection is the part that matters most, since a bad one is what makes the job dangerous. Whether anyone checks that connection depends on whether the town where the house sits has its own rule requiring it. Where no town rule exists, there is no local check on that work, and no state record of the contractor either.
Source: South Dakota Legislature
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat, not just fan, and that the temperature is set above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace and, if you have a gas furnace, make sure the gas valve is open. A furnace that won't start at all often means the igniter has failed or the flame sensor is dirty. One that starts and then shuts off partway through the cycle usually means it's overheating, and a clogged filter is the most common reason for that. At 12°F on a winter night here, a furnace that's out for even a few hours is worth a same-day call.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the air coming out of the vents feels warm or barely moving, check the filter first. A filter clogged with dust chokes the airflow across the indoor coil, and the coil can ice up as a result. If the filter is clean and the air is still warm, the system may be low on refrigerant, which points to a leak that only a licensed contractor can find and fix. Also check the outdoor unit. If the fan isn't spinning or the coil is packed with grass and debris, the system can't dump heat outside no matter how hard it runs. At 84°F on a summer afternoon here, a system that's running but not keeping up is usually losing the fight at one of these two coils.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and batteries, the breaker for the furnace or air conditioner, and the filter. These three catch a surprising number of no-heat and no-cool calls on their own. For a furnace, also check that the gas valve is open and that any switch on the unit itself hasn't been bumped off. For an air conditioner, look at the outdoor unit and clear away any leaves, grass clippings, or debris blocking the coil. If you've checked all of this and the system still isn't working, a licensed contractor will need to look at it. In Sturgis, whether that contractor needs a city license depends on where the house is, since South Dakota leaves HVAC licensing to individual cities and towns.