HVAC Repair in Athens, GA
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Clarke County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work, most of it on electricity
Your system in Clarke County only gets a couple of months off. Heat runs November through March, cooling runs May through September, and most homes here do it all with electric equipment rather than gas. That means the compressor and the heat strips or heat pump coil carry the load almost year round, with little rest between seasons.
Summer afternoons averaging 88°F push the outdoor unit hard, and a low refrigerant charge or a dirty condenser coil shows up as warm air at the vents or a system that runs constantly without catching up. Winter nights average 35°F, cold enough for a heat pump to lean on backup heat strips or for a furnace to cycle often, and a failing igniter or a worn contactor tends to give out on one of those cold nights rather than a mild one. Add in the wind. Clarke County has logged 48 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and outdoor units and their electrical connections take the brunt of that.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 88°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Georgia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license comes from the State Construction Industry Licensing Board, and it means the state tested the contractor and keeps a record of them. It covers the contractor, not each visit, so the same license that qualifies someone to install a furnace also covers them to repair one. There is no separate sign-off for this particular job.
For a repair to your heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It is what ties the contractor at your door back to someone Georgia has already checked, rather than someone working with no record at all.
Source: Georgia Secretary of State
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat, not cool, and that the temperature is set above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace or air handler, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Gas furnaces also have an igniter that wears out over time, and once it fails the furnace will not light at all. If none of that explains it, a contractor can test the igniter, the flame sensor, and the control board to find where the failure is.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter blocking airflow, so check that first and replace it if it looks gray or clogged. If the filter is clean, look at the outdoor unit. The condenser coil needs to be clear of leaves, grass, and dirt to release heat, and a blocked coil will keep the system from cooling even though it runs. A refrigerant leak can also cause this, but that only a contractor can test for and fix.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first, including the batteries if it uses them, since a dead thermostat can look like a dead system. Check the breaker panel for anything tripped. Pull the air filter and hold it up to the light. If you cannot see light through it, it is restricting airflow and needs to be replaced. For a gas furnace, check that the gas valve is open and that the pilot light is lit if it has one. Telling the contractor what you find, and when the problem started, helps them get to the cause faster.