HVAC Repair in Roanoke, VA
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Roanoke will get in touch.
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Roanoke asks for heat or cooling 11 months of the year
October through April, your furnace is working against winter nights that average 29°F. It cycles on and off all night to hold the house steady, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all.
June through September brings afternoons near 86°F, and your air conditioner runs long hours to keep up. That kind of runtime is hard on the capacitor and the compressor, the parts that carry the load. Roanoke also sees its share of winter storms and damaging wind, and power almost a quarter of Virginia households lost for a full day or more last year. A hard outage or a surge when the power snaps back can be enough to trip a system that was already working hard.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 29°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 86°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Virginia licenses HVAC contractors through the Board for Contractors. The state tests and records the contractor, not each individual job, so the same license covers whatever work that contractor takes on. Work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor in Virginia.
A repair to a heating and cooling system is the kind of job the license is meant to stand behind. The contractor who diagnoses and fixes the system is the one the state has tested and put on record, and that record is what backs the work rather than any inspection of the repair itself.
Sources: Virginia General Assembly · Virginia Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. If the display is blank, check the breaker before anything else. If power is fine, listen at the furnace when it calls for heat. A furnace that clicks but never lights points to the igniter or the flame sensor. A furnace that stays silent points to the thermostat wiring or the control board. With winter lows here averaging 29°F, this isn't something to leave for a few days. A contractor can trace it from there.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The system is running but the air coming out isn't cold, or it's cold but not enough to keep up. Check the filter first. A clogged filter chokes airflow and the coil behind it can ice over, which stops the cooling even though the fan still runs. If the filter is clean and the air still isn't cold, the system may be low on refrigerant, which points to a leak somewhere in the coil or lines. That part isn't something to test yourself. On an afternoon near 86°F a system that's low on refrigerant will run long and still lose ground against the heat.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and its batteries if it uses them. Check the breaker for the furnace or the outdoor unit, and check any shutoff switch near the equipment itself. Pull the filter and look at it in the light. If it's gray and packed with dust, replace it. Look at the outdoor unit for anything blocking it, leaves, a fallen branch, ice built up on the coil. If none of that explains what you're seeing, the problem is inside the system. Virginia requires a licensed contractor for this kind of work, and a contractor can price the repair once they see what the system needs.