HVAC Repair in Decatur, AL
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Morgan County will get in touch.
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Morgan County runs its system almost year round
Heat runs October through April here, then cooling takes over for May through September. That is every month of the year asking something of your system, with only a short break in between where neither side gets much rest.
Winter nights averaging 33°F keep the furnace cycling on and off most of the night, and summer afternoons near 89°F keep the AC running long stretches to hold the house steady. Most homes here heat with electricity, so a breaker problem or a bad heat strip shows up fast as a cold house rather than a quiet burner. Morgan County has also seen 246 damaging wind events and 7 winter storms over the past ten years, and outages that follow a storm mean an AC or furnace that will not start until the power does.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 33°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license is issued by the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors, and it belongs to the contractor, not the job. It is not a stamp on any single repair, and nobody from the board comes out to look at your furnace or your coil. What it means is that the person or company doing the work has been through the state's process to hold that license in the first place.
For a repair to your heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind whoever is doing the work. It covers the contractor generally, not this particular job, so it is worth knowing that the license itself is the protection here, not a sign-off on the repair once it is done.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often the thermostat isn't calling for heat the way it should, or the system isn't getting power. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature. If it's electric, check the breaker. If you have a gas furnace, look for a pilot light or igniter that isn't lighting, and check that the filter isn't clogged enough to shut the system down on safety. Most homes here heat with electricity, so a tripped breaker or a heat pump stuck in defrost is worth ruling out early. If none of that explains it, a contractor can find out what's actually wrong.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The blower could be running while the part that actually cools the air, the compressor, isn't kicking on. Start with the filter. A filter clogged with dust chokes off airflow and can make a working system feel weak. Check the thermostat is set to cool and below room temperature, and check the outdoor unit for ice on the coil or debris blocking the fins. On an afternoon near 89°F a system fighting a dirty filter or blocked coil falls behind fast, and it won't catch up on its own. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all, that's a job for a contractor.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it's set to the right mode, the temperature is actually calling for heat or cooling, and the batteries aren't dead. Check the breaker box for a tripped breaker, especially after a storm. This area sees enough wind events that a breaker trip or a brief power interruption isn't unusual, and some systems need a reset after one. Check the filter and swap it if it's dark with dust. If the system still isn't running right after that, call a contractor licensed by the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors.