HVAC Repair in Alabaster, AL
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 Shelby County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work, most years
Shelby County only gives your system two months off. Heat runs November through March, then cooling picks up again in May and stays on through September. That's ten months a year the furnace or the AC is doing something, with barely a break between one and the other.
Summer afternoons averaging 90°F keep the compressor working hard, day after day. Winter nights averaging 35°F mean the furnace cycles on and off through the night rather than running steady. 55.7% of homes here heat with electricity, and when that system falters, there's nothing else warming the house. Add in 94 damaging wind events recorded here over the past ten years, and the outdoor unit and the power feeding it take a real beating.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 35°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license means the state tested this contractor and keeps a record of them through the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors. It is tied to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license applies to this repair as it would to any other HVAC work they take on in the state.
For a repair like this, that state license is what stands behind the person working on your system. There is no separate license for the repair itself. The one the contractor holds is the credential covering the work.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and set a few degrees above room temperature, and check that it has power if it runs on batteries. If the thermostat looks right, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will cut power to the furnace with no other warning. Gas furnaces also need a pilot light or working igniter, so if you smell gas at all, leave the house and call your gas utility instead of a contractor. On a winter night here at 35°F, a furnace that will not start needs attention quickly, so if the basics check out and it still will not run, that points to something inside the unit a licensed contractor needs to look at.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the indoor coil, and that alone can stop a system from cooling even though it runs fine. Next check the outdoor unit and clear away any leaves, grass clippings or debris sitting against it, since it needs open airflow to release heat from the house. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and the house still is not cooling on a 90°F afternoon, the system may be low on refrigerant or have a failing part, and that repair needs a licensed contractor.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it if it uses any, and the breaker for the system. Check the air filter and replace it if it is dirty, since a clogged filter causes both heating and cooling problems. For a furnace, listen for it trying to start and note any smell of gas. For an AC, look at the outdoor unit and clear any debris blocking it. If you have checked these and the system still is not working right, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is actually wrong.