HVAC Repair in Pell City, 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 St. Clair County will get in touch.
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Ten months of work, most of it in the heat
Pell City runs its heating and cooling system almost year round. Summer afternoons average 89°F from May through September, and the AC has to hold that back for five straight months. That kind of stretch wears on the compressor and the capacitor that gets it started each time the unit cycles on.
Winter is shorter but still real, five months of heat with nights averaging 34°F from December through February. Most homes here heat with electricity, so a strip heater or heat pump that struggles in the cold gets noticed fast. St. Clair County has also seen 60 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. When the power comes back, most systems restart on their own, but a unit already worn from the summer heat is more likely to fail right when it is needed.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 34°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.
The Alabama Board of Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration Contractors issues that license, and it tested the contractor before granting it. The state keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it is the same license whether the work is a repair call or a full system install.
For a repair like this one, that license is what stands behind the person working on your system. It is the state's word that this contractor was tested and is on record with the board, not just a name on a truck.
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. Gas furnaces have to prove a flame within a few seconds of the igniter glowing, and if the sensor is coated with residue it will shut the burners off as a safety measure rather than let gas run without a flame. A dead thermostat battery or a tripped breaker will cause the same no-heat symptom and are worth checking first. If your furnace is electric, check the breaker panel next, since a tripped double-pole breaker will stop it cold with no other warning.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A clogged filter starves the coil of airflow, and when that happens the coil can ice over, which blocks airflow even more and leaves you with warm air blowing from the vents. If the filter is clean, the next thing to suspect is low refrigerant from a leak, and that is not something you can fix yourself. A contractor will need to find the leak and recharge the system with the correct amount for it to cool right.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat or cool as needed and not sitting in a dead battery. Next, check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since both furnaces and air conditioners will do nothing at all if the circuit is off. Then look at the air filter. If it is gray and packed with dust, replace it, since restricted airflow is behind a lot of no-heat and no-cool calls. If those three check out and the system still is not working, it is time to get a licensed contractor out to look at it. Alabama requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, so ask for it if you are not working with one already.