HVAC Repair in Blacksburg, VA
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from June through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Montgomery County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work a year on your system
Montgomery County only gives your system a short break. Heat runs October through May, then cooling takes over for June through August. That leaves the furnace or heat pump and the air conditioner working eleven months a year, with almost no downtime to recover between seasons.
Winter nights averaging 26°F mean long, steady runtimes on cold nights. Most homes here heat with electricity, so a heat pump or electric furnace is usually carrying that load. Summer afternoons near 82°F push the air conditioner hard in the other direction. The county has seen 18 winter storms and 94 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and the outages that come with them mean a system has to start back up reliably every time the power returns. When it doesn't, you notice fast. A house that won't warm up on a cold night. A heat pump that won't come back on after the power blinks.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 26°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Board for Contractors tests the contractor before issuing that license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any single job, so it travels with them from one house to the next. Virginia does carve out an exception. Work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor at all.
On a repair to a heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It is proof the state has tested this contractor and has a record of them, and that record does not disappear once the job is done.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most of the time it comes down to power, gas, or airflow. If you have a furnace, check that the switch on it or nearby is on and that the breaker hasn't tripped. Gas furnaces need the pilot lit or the igniter working, so if you hear it try to start and then shut off, that's often the flame sensor or igniter failing. A dirty filter can also starve the system of airflow and cause it to shut down before it warms the house. With winter nights here averaging 26°F, a furnace that won't stay running needs attention fast, so if the basics check out and it still won't run, that's a job for a contractor.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If air is moving but it isn't cold, the most common cause is a dirty filter or a coil that's frozen over from restricted airflow. Check the filter first, since a clogged one chokes off the air before it ever reaches the coil. Low refrigerant is another common cause, but that's not something to check yourself, since it means there's a leak somewhere in the system. If the filter is clean and the vents are blowing warm air anyway, a contractor will need to check the refrigerant charge and the coil.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the filter. A clogged filter is behind a lot of heating and cooling complaints, and swapping it out is something anyone can do. Next, check the thermostat has power and is set to heat or cool as needed, and check the breaker for the system hasn't tripped. If you have a furnace, look for a switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, sometimes it gets bumped off. Beyond that, work on the system itself, like handling refrigerant or wiring, needs a licensed contractor in Virginia, and a contractor will price the job once they see what it needs.