HVAC Repair in Walla Walla, 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 Walla Walla County will get in touch.
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Ten months of work a year on your system
Your furnace runs from October through May here, and your air conditioner takes over in July and August. That leaves almost no month where the system gets a real rest.
Winter nights average 29°F, cold enough that the burner cycles on and off many times a night to hold the house steady. Each start puts wear on the igniter and the parts that get the flame going. Summer afternoons average 86°F, and at that temperature the compressor runs long stretches to keep the house cool. 57.5% of homes here heat with electricity, so when a storm takes out power, the furnace stops with it. Walla Walla County has seen 67 winter storms and 37 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across Washington last year almost a quarter of households went at least a day without power. Most systems come back on their own once power returns, but a part that was already close to failing may not make it through the next cold snap or the next heat wave.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, 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
Washington requires contractors to register with the state.
Registration means the contractor's business is on file with the Department of Labor and Industries. It is not a trade license. Nobody tested this contractor's knowledge of furnaces, heat pumps or the gas and electrical connections that go with them before putting them on that list. Washington keeps a record of who is doing business under that name. It does not put a tested credential behind it.
For a repair to a heating and cooling system, that record is what the state offers. It says a business exists and can be found again if something goes wrong. It does not say who checked the work itself, because in Washington nobody did, at least not through this registration.
Source: Washington State Legislature
- Why is my heat not working?
- The first thing to check is the thermostat, since a dead battery or a setting knocked to cool will stop heat with nothing wrong in the furnace itself. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker and any switch that looks like a light switch near the furnace. Furnaces here run from October through May, so a pilot light or igniter that has not fired in months can fail right when you need it most. If power and settings check out and you still have no heat, a contractor will need to look at the igniter or the flame sensor.
- 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 the coil can ice over so the air coming out feels weak or warm even though the system is running. Check the outdoor unit too. If the outdoor coil is packed with grass clippings or covered by a bush, the system cannot dump heat outside no matter how hard it runs. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear, the system may be low on refrigerant, and that is a job for a contractor since it means finding and fixing a leak, not just topping it off.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat or cool as needed, the batteries are good, and the display is actually on. Next, check the breaker box and any disconnect switch near the furnace or outdoor unit, since a tripped breaker looks like a dead system from the thermostat. Pull the air filter and hold it up to the light. If you cannot see through it, replace it, since a clogged filter alone causes a lot of the calls people make. If the system still is not heating or cooling right after these checks, a contractor will need to diagnose it.