HVAC Repair in Fresno, CA
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Fresno County will get in touch.
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Twelve months of work, in a valley with hard summers and cold nights
Fresno County asks for heat from October through May and cooling from June through September. There is no real break. Winter nights average 32°F, cold enough that a furnace cycles on and off through the night, and each start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. By spring those parts have been through months of that.
Then summer afternoons hit 86°F and the air conditioner takes over, running long hours to hold the house at temperature. The condenser fan motor and the capacitor that starts it carry that load. If either one is already worn from the winter behind it, the heat is what finally makes it fail. More than half the homes here heat with gas, so when the furnace won't fire, it usually means the igniter, not just the thermostat setting.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 32°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $140 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Fresno County home.
Estimates for a typical Fresno 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 issues that license, and it only does so after the contractor is tested on the trade. The state also 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 repair on your heating and cooling system covered whatever job came before it.
Because California licenses the contractor rather than the job, that license is what stands behind the work here. Gas repair is where this matters most, since a bad connection is the dangerous part of the job, and a license means the person making that connection was tested and is on record with the state.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most of the time it comes down to the thermostat, the power to the unit, or the igniter. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature. Check the breaker for the furnace and, if it has a switch that looks like a light switch nearby, make sure it's on. If the furnace is a gas one and it tries to start but shuts off, the igniter or flame sensor is a common cause, and that's a job for a contractor licensed with the state.
- 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 clogged filter chokes airflow across the coil, and on a hot afternoon that can ice it over so it blows warm air instead of cool. Also check the outdoor unit and make sure nothing is blocking it and the fan out there is actually turning. If the filter is clean and the outdoor fan is running but the air still isn't cold, the system likely needs a contractor to look at it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to the right mode and the temperature calls for what you want, and check the batteries if it has any. Next check the filter, since a dirty one can cause both heating and cooling problems. Then check the breaker box for a tripped breaker and, on a furnace, any reset switch nearby. If everything there checks out and the system still isn't working right, that's the point to bring in a licensed contractor.