HVAC Repair in Los Angeles, CA
Homes here need heat from November through April and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Los Angeles County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work, most years, for the same system
Your system in Los Angeles County works almost year round. Heat from November through April, cooling from June through September, and only a couple of months where it gets to rest. Winter nights average 41°F, mild by most standards, but the furnace still cycles on and off through the night to hold that. Summer afternoons climb to 87°F, and the condenser outside runs for hours at a stretch to keep up.
That kind of steady use is what wears out an igniter or a capacitor, not one bad night but hundreds of ordinary ones. Most homes here heat with gas, so it is the furnace side that logs the hours all winter. The county has seen 112 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and when the power drops, a system that does not come back on the way it should is worth checking.
- 6 months
- November through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 41°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $120 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Los Angeles County home.
Estimates for a typical Los Angeles 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 license is issued to the contractor, not to the specific repair job. That means the person or business working on your system was tested by the state and has a record with the Contractors State License Board, but the board is not signing off on this particular repair before or after it happens.
For a heating and cooling repair, that license is what stands behind the work. If gas piping or a gas connection is part of the repair, that is the part where a mistake turns dangerous, and the license is what the state uses to hold someone accountable for it.
Sources: California Legislative Counsel · Contractors State License Board
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most of the time it's the igniter, a flame sensor that needs cleaning, or the thermostat not calling for heat the way it should. If you have gas heat, check that the switch on the furnace itself is on and the breaker hasn't tripped. A pilot light that's out on an older unit is something you can sometimes relight yourself, but if the igniter is bad or the flame sensor is dirty, that's a repair for a licensed contractor. With winter nights here averaging 41°F, it's worth getting looked at soon rather than waiting it out.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The fan runs but the air isn't cold, which usually points to low refrigerant, a frozen coil, or a compressor that isn't kicking on. Start with the filter. A clogged one restricts airflow across the coil and can cause it to ice up, and once that happens the system blows warm air until it thaws. If the filter is clean and the air still isn't cold, the problem is likely inside the unit itself, and that's a job for a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it's set to heat or cool as needed and the batteries aren't dead. Then check the filter, since a dirty one chokes airflow and can shut a system down or make it work harder than it should. Look at the breaker panel for a tripped breaker, and if you have gas heat, confirm the switch on the furnace is in the on position. If all of that checks out and the system still isn't working right, a licensed contractor will need to look at it.