HVAC Repair in Dothan, AL
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Houston County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work a year, on a grid that doesn't always hold
Houston County gets about one month of rest from heating or cooling. Summer afternoons near 91°F push the air conditioner hard from May through October. Then the furnace or heat pump takes over from November through March, working against winter nights that average 41°F. Almost all of that heat comes from electricity, so one system is carrying nearly the whole year on its own.
That system runs into a grid that takes hits. The area has logged 205 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Alabama, 18% of households lost power for at least a day in 2024. A compressor or control board that cuts out mid-cycle and restarts when the power comes back is under different stress than one that just runs long hours.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 41°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
That license comes from the Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors. It belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The board licenses the business itself, and that license covers whatever work the contractor takes on, not each repair separately.
For a repair on your heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the contractor working in your house. It is not tied to this specific job or this specific system. It is the same license the state requires them to hold for any HVAC work they do in Alabama.
Source: Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often it is the igniter or the flame sensor if you have gas heat, or the breaker if you heat with electricity, which is how most homes here heat. Start with your thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature. Check your breaker panel next, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down with no warning. If the furnace tries to start and shuts off again, that points to the igniter or flame sensor, and that is a repair for a licensed contractor.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The blower may be moving air without the air actually being cold, which usually comes down to the refrigerant side or a coil that cannot do its job. Check your air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil and the whole system loses its cooling power even though it keeps running. If the filter is clean and you still feel warm air, look at the outdoor unit. Ice on the coil or a coil packed with leaves and grass means it cannot pull heat out of your air, and that needs a contractor to look at the refrigerant charge or clean the coil properly.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check your thermostat settings, your breaker panel, and your air filter. A thermostat set wrong or with a dead battery looks exactly like a broken system from the homeowner's side. A tripped breaker cuts power to the whole unit, and with 18% of Alabama households losing power for at least a day in 2024, it is worth checking even if you do not remember a storm. A filter clogged with dust or pet hair chokes airflow and can make a working system seem broken. If all this checks out and the problem is still there, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is actually wrong. Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, so ask to see it before work starts.