HVAC Repair in Alexandria, LA
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from April through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Rapides Parish will get in touch.
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Seven months of cooling, five months of heat
Your air conditioner carries the load from April through October, working hardest on the afternoons that hit 92°F. That kind of heat keeps the compressor running long hours, and it's the compressor and the fan motor that wear down first under that strain. Come November, the system switches over and your furnace has to handle nights averaging 41°F, cycling on and off through the cold months until March.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so a power outage means no heat at all until it's back. Rapides Parish sees its share of damaging wind, and with that comes outages. If your system won't start after the power flickers, that's often a breaker or a control board that didn't reset on its own, not a sign the unit is done for.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 41°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 92°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Louisiana requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors tests and records the contractor, not the job. That license is tied to the business doing the work, so the same contractor can take on a heating and cooling repair in Rapides Parish or anywhere else in the state under that same credential.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person working on your equipment. It means the state has tested this contractor and keeps a record of them, which is the protection you have going into the job.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat and the power to the furnace. If the thermostat screen is blank, check the breaker before anything else. On a gas furnace, a pilot light that will not stay lit or an igniter that will not glow usually shuts the whole system down as a safety measure. Alexandria winter nights average 41°F, cold enough that a dead furnace shows up fast, so if the basics check out and it still will not run, a contractor needs to look at the igniter, the flame sensor, or the gas valve.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If air is moving but it is not cold, check the outdoor unit first. A fan that is not spinning, ice on the coil, or a compressor that is silent when it should be running all point to different problems, but any of them means the refrigerant side is not working even though the indoor blower is. A dirty filter can also choke airflow enough that the house never catches up, especially with afternoons here running near 92°F. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit looks right, the refrigerant charge or the compressor itself needs a contractor's gauge to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat batteries and setting first, since a dead battery or a mode switched to the wrong setting looks exactly like a broken system. Next check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker feeding the furnace or the outdoor unit. Then pull the filter and hold it up to the light. If it is gray and you cannot see through it, replace it before assuming anything else is wrong. Past that point, a contractor licensed by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors will need to diagnose the actual part.