HVAC Repair in Hardin, MT
Homes here need heat from September through June and cooling from July through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Big Horn County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat, two of cooling, and not much margin
Your furnace in Hardin works almost year round. Heat runs September through June, and on winter nights averaging 14 degrees it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch. That kind of run time wears on the igniter and the blower motor, and when one of them fails on a cold night you find out fast.
The cooling season is short, just July and August, with afternoons around 82 degrees. An air conditioner that sits idle most of the year can develop a refrigerant leak or a stuck capacitor over the winter, and you may not know until the first hot day it will not start. Big Horn County has also logged 84 winter storms and 91 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and power interruptions are common enough in Montana that a furnace with a standing pilot is worth knowing about, since it will keep running through an outage that would stop an electronic ignition system cold.
- 10 months
- September through June, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 14°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 82°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 Big Horn County home.
Estimates for a typical Big Horn County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Montana 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.
Montana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Montana licenses HVAC contractors through the Department of Labor and Industry. The state tests the contractor and keeps that license on file. It covers the contractor, not each individual job, so the same license applies whether the work is small or large. Montana does carve out one exception. Work under $2,500 does not need a licensed contractor at all.
A heating and cooling repair can fall on either side of that line. Above $2,500, the license is what stands behind the person working on your system, backed by the state's testing and record. Below it, the job can be done without that license in place.
Source: Montana Legislature
- Why is my heat not working?
- A few things cause this, and where you start depends on what you smell or hear. If the burners will not light, the igniter or the flame sensor is a common cause, and either one is a straightforward swap for a licensed contractor. If the blower runs but the air feels cool, check your thermostat setting and batteries first. When it's 14°F outside at night, a furnace working overtime can trip a limit switch or blow a fuse, so check your breaker panel before assuming the worst. Whatever you find, a system down at that temperature isn't something to leave overnight.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Start with the filter. A clogged filter starves the coil of airflow, and the coil can ice over, which stops cold air from moving through your ducts. Check your outdoor unit too. If the fan isn't spinning or the area around it is packed with leaves or grass clippings, the unit can't shed heat the way it needs to. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is running clear, the refrigerant charge may be low, and that's a job for a licensed contractor, since it means finding and sealing a leak, not just adding refrigerant.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat batteries and setting first. It sounds obvious, but a dead battery or a mode switched to the wrong setting causes more no-heat calls than people expect. Check your breaker panel next, a tripped breaker will stop a furnace or air conditioner cold and it's an easy thing to rule out. Check the filter and pull it if you can see through it. Beyond that, work on a heating and cooling system usually calls for a licensed contractor, and a contractor can price the job once they see what it needs.