HVAC Repair in Houma, LA
Homes here need heat from November through February and cooling from April through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Terrebonne Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work a year, with storms on top of it
Your air conditioner runs April through October here, cooling homes through afternoons that average 90°F. Then it switches over for four months of heat, working against winter nights that average 48°F. Most systems in other parts of the country get a real rest. Yours gets one month, maybe less.
That kind of run time wears on the parts that start the system up and keep it running, the capacitor, the contactor, the motor. Two thirds of homes here heat with electricity, so when the power goes out, the heat goes with it. And the power does go out. Louisiana saw 28 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and last year alone, half of the state's households lost power for 24 hours or more. When it comes back on, most systems restart on their own. But a system already worn from months of nonstop use is the one that does not.
- 4 months
- November through February, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 48°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 90°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 contractors and keeps the record of who holds a license. That license covers the contractor, not the job, so the same license applies to this repair and to any other job that contractor takes on.
For a repair to your heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Louisiana puts the accountability on the contractor holding the license, not on a separate check of this particular repair.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often the thermostat is set wrong, a breaker tripped, or the pilot or igniter failed. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature. If the furnace runs on electric heat strips or a heat pump, check the breaker panel too, since a tripped breaker there will leave you with no heat at all. If the system won't light or the blower never comes on, that points to the igniter, the pilot, or a safety switch, and a contractor will need to look at it.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower runs but the air isn't cold, check the filter first. A clogged filter chokes airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice up as a result, which makes the problem worse the longer it runs. Check the outdoor unit too. If the fan isn't spinning or the coil is caked with dirt or leaves, it can't release heat the way it needs to. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit looks fine but the house still won't cool, especially with summer afternoons here hitting 90°F, the system likely needs refrigerant or has a failing part, and that calls for a licensed contractor.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to the right mode and the temperature is actually calling for heat or cooling. Check the breaker panel for anything tripped, and check the filter, since a dirty filter causes more no-cool and no-heat calls than almost anything else. Look at the outdoor unit for debris or ice on the coil, and make sure nothing is blocking the vents inside. If all of that checks out and the system still isn't working, the problem is inside the equipment, and that's a job for a licensed contractor. Louisiana requires the contractor doing that work to hold a state license.