HVAC Repair in Fayetteville, NC
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 Cumberland County will get in touch.
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Ten months of work a year on your system
Cumberland County only gives your system two months of rest. Heat runs November through March, and the AC picks up in May and doesn't stop until fall. Winter nights average 34°F, cold enough that the furnace cycles on and off most of the night. Summer afternoons average 89°F, so the compressor runs hard for hours at a stretch to keep up.
That much run time wears on the parts that start the system up. Igniters and capacitors are usually what fails first, and you notice it as a furnace that won't light or an AC that hums but never kicks on. Storms add another way for things to go wrong. Cumberland County has seen 103 damaging wind events and 4 winter storms over the past ten years, and most homes here heat with electricity, so a power interruption means no heat or cooling until the power and the system both come back.
- 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
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. The board tested the contractor before handing it out, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that covers a furnace repair in one house covers one in the next.
For a repair to your heating and cooling system, that state license is what stands behind the work. Whoever comes out to your house in Cumberland County should be able to show the same license the board issued, since North Carolina puts the credential on the contractor rather than on the address or the job.
Sources: North Carolina General Assembly · North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often it comes down to power, fuel, or airflow. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and the temperature is above room temperature, then check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker. If you heat with electricity, like most homes here do, a tripped breaker or a bad heating element can cut off heat with no warning. A dirty filter can also block airflow badly enough that the system shuts itself off to keep from overheating. If power and airflow both check out and you still have no heat, especially with winter nights here averaging 34°F, it is worth getting a licensed contractor out before a cold night turns into a real problem.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the system runs but the air is not cold, the most common causes are a dirty filter, a frozen coil, or low refrigerant. A clogged filter starves the system of airflow, and over time that can freeze the indoor coil, which stops cooling almost completely until it thaws. Low refrigerant means a leak somewhere in the system, and that will not fix itself. Check the filter first since it is the one thing you can rule out yourself. With summer afternoons here reaching 89°F, a system that is not actually cooling needs a licensed contractor to find the cause rather than run longer and risk more damage.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat or cool as needed, the batteries are good, and the temperature setting actually calls for the system to run. Next, check the filter and replace it if it is visibly dirty, since a clogged filter causes both heating and cooling problems. Then check your breaker panel for anything tripped, and if you have a furnace, look for a reset button on the unit itself. If your power went out recently, some systems need to be manually switched back on even after power returns. If you have done all this and the system still is not working right, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is actually wrong.