HVAC Repair in Lafayette, 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 Lafayette Parish will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Lafayette runs its system almost year round
Cooling runs April through October here, seven months of afternoons near 91°F. That is seven months of the compressor cycling on and off to keep up, and the strain shows up as a system that runs long or short cycles or stops cooling on the hottest part of the day. Winter is shorter, November through March, but nights still drop to an average of 44°F, enough to run the heat most nights in a Lafayette winter.
Most homes here heat with electricity, so the same storms that knock out power leave the heat down too. Louisiana saw 39 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and last year alone about half of households lost power for a day or more. When the power comes back, some systems need a hand to start again, and a system already worn from a full cooling season is more likely to be the one that does not.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 7 months
- April through October, it cools
- 44°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°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 is the body that tests and records HVAC contractors in this state. Getting licensed means the contractor passed the board's exam and is on file with the state. That license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it is not something reissued or checked for each repair.
For a repair like this, the license is what stands behind the person working on your system. It tells you the state tested this contractor and has a record of them, not just that they showed up with a truck and a business card.
Source: Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most of the time it comes down to power, fuel or airflow. If your thermostat screen is blank, check the breaker first, since that's a five-second fix compared to anything else. If you heat with electricity, like most homes here do, a tripped breaker or a bad heating element will stop the system cold. Gas furnaces more often fail at the igniter or the flame sensor, both of which a contractor can test in minutes. With winter lows here averaging 44°F, a furnace that won't fire is worth calling in before a colder night hits.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air isn't cold, the problem is usually the refrigerant charge, a frozen coil, or the outdoor unit not doing its job. A dirty filter can choke airflow enough to freeze the coil, and once it's frozen no air coming through it will be cold. Check the filter first, since that's the one thing worth looking at yourself. If the filter is clean and the air is still warm, the system needs a contractor to check the refrigerant and the outdoor unit, especially with afternoons here running near 91°F.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat or cool as needed and that the batteries aren't dead. Next, check the breaker box for anything tripped, and check the filter, since a clogged one causes both weak heating and weak cooling. If the outdoor unit isn't running, look for anything blocking it, like leaves or debris after a storm. Past that, a contractor licensed by the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors will need to look at the actual equipment.