Area heating companies have reported an uptick in service calls Monday, with temperatures reaching -10 degrees.

“We’re much busier now,” Ahrens Heating owner Veleda Cordes said. “The cold makes furnaces work harder.”

Ahrens service techs were busy driving back and forth from service calls all morning. Technician Josh Anderson said he had responded to four or five furnace calls before noon.

Gag Sheet Metal (GSM) also reported a higher volume of service calls on Monday, with six furnace calls by midday.

GSM service manager Daniele Sharits answers calls during the cold snap. There were six calls for furnace repairs Monday morning before noon. There were also two calls for frozen or burst pipes.

GSM service manager Daniele Sharits said half the calls were from commercial customers with heating devices on the roof. The other half were residential furnaces.

Sharits confirmed GSM’s service calls always increase during cold snaps, but said the recent cold snap was not as bad as others. She said they typically receive the most calls during the first freeze of the season.

“November is when we really got hit,” she said.

Overall, the 2024-2025 winter season has been busier than last year for furnace repairs.

“We had no winter last year,” Cordes said. “This is close to a normal winter. It was relatively warm until now.”

GSM employee Ben Peters shows the heating tape used to prevent pipes from freezing.

To keep furnaces running well during the cold, both Ahren and GSM staff recommended customers change their filters.

“Change those filters,” Cordes said. “Dirty filters can cause other problems. That’s usually what we usually find is the cause of the problem.”

“Check exhaust outside to make sure it has not frozen over,” Shartis said.

During cold snaps, GSM also receives calls on the plumbing side of the business. Burst pipes are another concern during deep freezes, however, GSM staff was surprised at how few frozen pipe calls they received.

Sharits said they only had two calls for frozen pipes on Monday, which was low for a cold snap.

NAPA Auto Parts rack of vehicle batteries. NAPA has gone through two pallets worth of batteries in the last two weeks as the winter turned cold.

One of the best protection against frozen pipes is heating tape. Heating tape is laid flat against the pipe. An electrical charge runs through the tape, heating the pipe and preventing it from freezing.

“GSM has gone through a lot of heating tape this year,” Sharits said. “Much more than last year, but not as much as two years ago. Two years ago we ran out of heating tape.”

Sharits said the 2022-2023 winter was one of the worst seasons for service calls. That winter saw extreme cold and a lot of snow.

One of the benefits of the recent cold snap is there was no significant snowfall. The roads are relatively clear. Sharits said it was easier for service techs to reach rural customers.

Furnaces are not the only system hit hard by the cold. Vehicle batteries are also affected by extreme cold. It is common for auto parts businesses to see a spike in battery sales as prices drop.

Auto Value of New Ulm sold 10 vehicle batteries within the first three hours of business Monday. The recent subzero temperatures have left many vehicles frozen in place.

Len Krzywon at Auto Value of New Ulm said battery sales are fairly consistent during cold snaps. Monday morning Auto Value sold 10 batteries within the first three hours of the work day.

“There was quite a noticeable jump,” Krzywon said.

Napa Auto Parts also confirmed a rush on vehicle batteries, but it began before the recent cold snap. Napa manager Ashley Groebner said they went through two pallets of batteries in the last two weeks.

“Whenever it reaches subzero temperatures we can expect more battery sales,” she said.

With temperature expected to remain below zero or in the single digits for the next few days, Auto Value and Napa staff are recommending running their vehicles at least once a day.

“You are going to want to at least run your vehicle for 10 minutes,” Groebner said. “I do that with my vehicles. I let them run for 10 to 15 minutes.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to start your vehicle and let it run every day,” Krzywon said. “Cold is the worst enemy on a battery. Cold could freeze it up and it won’t give you a charge.”

The weather forecast predicts temperatures will remain below freezing through at least Friday. Temperatures could reach 45 degrees by Sunday.