HVAC Repair in Pasco, WA
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from July through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Franklin County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work, most winters below freezing
Your furnace and your AC are both busy here. Heat runs October through May, cooling picks up in July and August, and that leaves only a couple months when the system gets a break. Most of that load falls on the furnace. Winter nights average 28°F, cold enough that the burner cycles on and off for hours at a stretch, and each start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those parts finally gives out, the furnace stops lighting and the house goes cold on exactly the kind of night you can't wait out.
Two-thirds of homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes, the heat goes with it. That matters in this county. Storms have knocked out power across Washington often enough that almost a quarter of households went at least a day without it last year, and Franklin County has seen 14 winter storms and 25 damaging wind events over the past ten years. Summer brings its own strain, with afternoons reaching 85°F and the AC running long hours to keep up. A system already worn down by eight months of heating doesn't have much left to give when that heat arrives.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
The registration puts the business on file with the Department of Labor and Industries. There is no trade exam behind it, so the number tells you the business is on record, not that a state inspector ever checked their work on a furnace or an air conditioner.
For a repair like this, the registration is not what stands behind the work. It is a business record, not a trade credential, so it does not speak to whether the person at your house knows a heat pump from a furnace. Washington's rule stops at that record. Nothing in it tests the work itself.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often the igniter has failed or the flame sensor is too dirty to detect a flame, so the furnace shuts itself off as a safety measure. A thermostat set wrong or batteries that died can also stop the call for heat before it ever reaches the furnace. If the system runs but blows cold air, check the air filter next, since one that is clogged can choke off airflow and trip a safety switch. With winter nights here averaging 28°F, this is not something to leave for long. A contractor can tell you in minutes which of these it is.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the outdoor unit is running but the air inside is not cold, check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil, and that coil can ice over, which stops it from cooling the air at all. Low refrigerant from a leak causes the same thing and will not fix itself by running longer. If the outdoor fan is not spinning while the indoor blower runs, that points to the outdoor unit itself, and it needs a contractor to look at it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it is set to heat or cool as needed and that the batteries are not dead. Next check the air filter and replace it if it is gray or clogged, since restricted airflow is behind a lot of no-heat and no-cool calls. Look at the breaker panel for a tripped breaker, and if the outdoor unit has a shutoff switch nearby, confirm it has not been bumped off. If the system still is not working after that, a contractor will need to diagnose it further.