HVAC Repair in Asheville, NC
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from June through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Buncombe County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat or cooling, and storms that cut the power
Your furnace runs October through April. Your AC runs June through August. That is 10 months a year the system is doing something, with only a short break in spring and fall to rest. Winter nights average 28°F, cold enough that the furnace cycles on and off most of the night to hold the temperature, and every start puts load on the igniter and the parts that get the burner going. Summer afternoons average 80°F, so the compressor is working most days of the season, not just the worst ones.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the heat goes with it. In North Carolina, a quarter of households lost power for at least a day in 2024, and Buncombe County has seen 8 winter storms and 55 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Most systems restart on their own once power is back, but a system already worn down before the outage is more likely to fail once it does.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
North Carolina requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The license comes from the State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors. It means the state tested the contractor and keeps a record of them. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so the same license stands behind every repair they do, not just this one.
For a heating and cooling repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your system. North Carolina puts the license on the contractor rather than on each job, so nothing changes from one repair to the next.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's 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 without any other warning. A furnace that runs on a standing pilot needs that pilot lit, and if it's gone out, the burners won't fire even though the blower may still run. If none of that brings the heat back, especially with nights averaging 28°F here in the winter, it's worth getting a contractor out the same day rather than waiting.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air isn't cold, check the filter first. A filter clogged with dust chokes off airflow across the coil, and when that happens the coil can ice over and stop cooling the air at all. Check the outdoor unit too. Leaves, grass clippings or anything piled against it blocks the airflow it needs to release heat. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and you're still not getting cold air, the system likely needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge or the coil itself.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat setting and battery first, since a dead battery or a setting bumped to the wrong mode looks exactly like a bigger problem. Check your breaker panel for anything tripped. Check the filter, and replace it if it's gray or clogged, since restricted airflow causes problems on both the heating and cooling side. If your system runs on a standing pilot, check that the pilot is lit. If you've checked all of this and the system still isn't working, a contractor will need to diagnose it on site.