HVAC Repair in Oxnard, CA
Homes here need heat from November through May and cooling from July through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Ventura County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year, with wind on top of it
Your system runs from November through May to keep the house warm, then again from July through September to keep it cool. That is ten months a year with almost no rest, and the two seasons ask different things of it. On winter nights averaging 38°F, the burner cycles on and off for hours. On summer afternoons near 83°F, the compressor runs long stretches to keep up. Most homes here heat with gas, so it is the igniter and the burner assembly taking the wear in winter, and the compressor and the fan motor carrying the load in summer.
Ventura County has also seen 38 damaging wind events over the past ten years, along with 4 winter storms. Wind like that can knock branches into an outdoor condenser unit or work loose a panel or connection that was already worn. Power drops with it. Most systems come back on their own once power returns, but a thermostat or control board can lose its settings, and you may need to reset it yourself.
- 7 months
- November through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- July through September, it cools
- 38°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $110 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Ventura County home.
Estimates for a typical Ventura 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 comes from the Contractors State License Board, and it's tied to the contractor, not to any one job. That means the person or company was tested and has a record with the state, but the repair on your furnace or AC doesn't get its own separate license. It's the contractor's standing that carries over from job to job.
For a repair like this, that license is the thing accountable for the work. The contractor doing it should be the one holding the license, not just the business that sent them out.
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 temperature is set above the room temperature, since a setting bumped by accident is more common than it sounds. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker box, since a tripped breaker will shut the furnace down with no warning. Gas furnaces also need a pilot light or an igniter to fire, so if you hear the blower running but feel no heat, that ignition step is where a contractor should look first.
- 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 when that happens the coil can ice over and blow air that is barely cooler than the room. Check the outdoor unit too. If the condenser outside is covered in leaves or debris, it cannot release heat the way it needs to, and the whole system loses its ability to cool. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and you are still getting warm air, the system likely needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and its batteries first, since a dead battery or a setting on the wrong mode looks exactly like a bigger problem. Check the breaker box for anything tripped. Check the air filter, since a filter packed with dust chokes airflow to both the furnace and the air conditioner. Outside, make sure the condenser unit is not blocked by plants, leaves, or anything piled against it. If all of that checks out and the problem is still there, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is actually wrong.