HVAC Repair in Bakersfield, CA
Homes here need heat from November through April and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Kern County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, almost no break
Your system runs nearly all year here. Heat from November through April, cooling from May through September, with only a short stretch that asks nothing of it. Summer afternoons average 93°F, so the compressor spends long hours holding the house down against that heat. Winter nights average 37°F, cold enough that the burner or the heat pump cycles on and off through the night.
That kind of steady demand wears on the parts that start the system up, the igniter, the capacitor, the contactor. When one of them gives out, you notice it as a system that will not start, or one that runs but never quite catches up. Kern County also sees its share of wind, with 711 damaging wind events recorded over the past ten years, and outages that come with storms can be hard on a system when the power drops and comes back.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 37°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 93°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $160 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Kern County home.
Estimates for a typical Kern County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, California fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
California requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Contractors State License Board tested the contractor before issuing that license, and the license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job. That means the same license applies whether the work is a full system replacement or a single repair call.
For a repair, the license is what stands behind the person working on your equipment. That covers the contractor's qualifications, not the specific parts of the job, so a repair on a heating and cooling system is checked at the level of who is licensed to do it rather than each task performed. If the repair touches the gas connection to your furnace, that connection is the part worth getting right, since a poor seal there is what makes the job dangerous rather than just technical.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the set temperature is above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, since that turns it off for service. Gas furnaces also need the pilot or igniter to work, so if you smell gas or hear it trying to start without lighting, that points to a contractor visit rather than something to keep testing on your own.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice over so the air coming out feels weak or warm even though the system is running. Turn the system off and let it sit for a few hours if you see ice on the lines outside, then check the filter and try again. If the air still is not cold after that, the refrigerant charge or the outdoor unit needs a contractor's attention.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the breaker, and the filter before anything else. Make sure the thermostat is set correctly and has fresh batteries if it uses them. Look at the breaker panel for a tripped switch, and pull the filter to see if it is dirty enough to block airflow. Outside, make sure the outdoor unit is not covered in debris or blocked by anything. If those all check out and the system still is not working right, that is the point to bring in a licensed contractor to look at what is behind it.