HVAC Repair in Washington, MO
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September. 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.
Your system runs almost every month of the year here
Franklin County furnaces run October through April, and on winter nights averaging 24°F the burner is cycling on and off for hours to keep up. Summer flips the load the other way. Afternoons average 87°F from May through September, and the compressor works through the hottest part of every one of those days.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the heat goes with it. Franklin County has seen 72 damaging wind events and 9 winter storms over the past ten years, and statewide, close to one in five households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A furnace that loses power in the middle of a cold night has to start cold and work to catch back up once it returns.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 24°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat, not cool, and the temperature is set above the room temperature. If that's not it, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Gas furnaces will also stop and lock out after a few failed attempts to light, so if you hear it trying and quitting, that's usually a sign the igniter or flame sensor needs attention from a contractor. Winter nights here get down to 24°F on average, so a furnace that won't hold a flame needs looking at right away, not in a few days.
- 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 stop cooling the air even though the blower keeps running. Next check the thermostat is set to cool and the temperature is below the room temperature. If the filter is clean and the air coming out of the vents is warm, the system may be low on refrigerant or have a failing compressor, and that calls for a contractor with gauges to find out which. On a 87°F afternoon, a system that's only moving air without cooling it is worth calling in soon, since the compressor can take more damage the longer it runs low on refrigerant.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the breaker panel, and the air filter. Make sure the thermostat is set to the right mode and a temperature that should trigger the system to run. Look at the breaker for the furnace or air conditioner to see if it's tripped, and reset it once if it is. Pull the air filter and hold it up to a light. If you can't see light through it, replace it, since a blocked filter can cause problems that look like bigger failures. If the system still doesn't run right after these checks, a contractor will need to look at it directly to find the cause.