Orem, Utah
Furnace, air conditioning and plumbing in Orem
Orem was built out mostly between the 1950s and the 1970s, and that generation of Utah house was cooled by an evaporative cooler on the roof rather than by refrigerated air. A good many still are, many more have a central system that was added later, and the two need completely different conversations.
- Utah County
- About 35 min from the shop
- About 4,775 ft
- Gas equipment derates ~11%
Straight answers
Orem questions we get asked
Should I replace my swamp cooler with central air?
Usually yes, and for comfort reasons rather than dogma. Evaporative cooling works well in dry heat and stops working on the humid days you most want it, it puts moisture into the house, and it needs a window cracked to move air at all. Central air does none of that. The honest counterpoint is that a swamp cooler costs very little to run, so if yours works and you are content, replacing it is a comfort purchase and not a repair. What we will not do is tell you it is broken when it is not.
My house had central air added later. Why does it cool unevenly?
Because the ducting was sized for heating, and heating and cooling do not want the same airflow. A 1965 rambler had its ducts laid out to drop warm air into rooms; pushing cold air through the same runs usually leaves the far bedrooms warm and the room nearest the furnace freezing. Balancing dampers and adding return capacity fix more of this than people expect, and both cost far less than equipment.
Do you cover Orem?
Yes — about thirty-five minutes down I-15 from the shop in Sandy. Furnace, air conditioning, water heaters, plumbing, drains and sewer, all on one licence.
Orem is higher than Salt Lake. Does that affect a new furnace?
It does. At about 4,775 feet the derate is around eleven percent, so a furnace rated at 100,000 BTU delivers closer to 89,000 here. That is more than the valley floor loses, and it is another reason a replacement should be sized against the house rather than against whatever is currently bolted to the ductwork.
On the ground
What we see in Orem homes
The rambler, and what was done to it
The core housing here is single-storey, on a slab or over a basement, with the original ducting and fifty years of modifications around it. Finished basements, added bedrooms, a garage turned into living space. Each of those changed the load on a system nobody re-balanced afterwards, and most of the comfort complaints we take here trace back to one of them rather than to the equipment.
Evaporative cooling is a real Utah answer, not a punchline
For decades a swamp cooler was the right answer for this climate, and for some houses it still is. We have no interest in telling you otherwise. What we will tell you is what it costs to keep and what it costs to change, and then let you pick.
Higher ground than the Salt Lake valley
At about 4,775 feet Orem sits several hundred feet above Murray or West Valley City. That is enough to matter to gas sizing and enough to make clear nights colder. Neither fact appears on the plate of the unit you are replacing.
Everything we do here
Our services in Orem
All six are available across Orem, not only close to Sandy. Air Conditioning leads this list because it is what this part of the valley calls about most.
- Air Conditioning in OremSwamp cooler conversions, and retrofitted central air that cools the wrong rooms. Ducting first.See air conditioning
- Water Heaters in OremFifty-year-old mechanical rooms and tanks that hard water took early. Tank or tankless.See water heaters
- Furnace Repair in OremNo heat, short cycling, or a noise that started last night — we diagnose it the same day and carry the parts to finish it.See furnace repair
- Furnace Replacement in OremLoad-sized against a much-modified rambler, with the eleven-percent derate accounted for.See furnace replacement
- Plumbing in OremAdditions and finished basements tied into supply and drain work that predates them by decades.See plumbing
- Drains & Sewer in OremHydro-jetting and camera inspection. We find what is actually in the line instead of guessing at it.See drains & sewer
In their words
What customers say
Great customer service. Luke is the man! He took the time to talk with me on his birthday and then had my central air up and running the next day.
We had our old furnace making a loud noise, apparently the motor had gone bad so we ended up having iRepair install a new furnace and AC with a new system that is much more efficient.
Eusebio came out within a couple hours, found that we had a couple filters that needed replaced and our cool had frozen over.
Emergency service
No heat, no cooling or a leak in Orem?
Call and speak to somebody now. We come out the same day wherever the schedule allows — and if we cannot reach Orem today we will tell you that on the phone rather than after you have waited in.