HVAC Repair in Evansville, IN
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 Vanderburgh County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat, five of cooling, and not much rest between
Your furnace in Vanderburgh County works from October through April, and winter nights average 27°F through the coldest stretch. That means long stretches where the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a time, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the ignition control board. When one of those gives out, the furnace stops firing and the house goes cold, usually on one of those 27°F nights when you notice fastest.
Then May through September, your air conditioner takes over, working against afternoons that average 87°F. The condenser fan and the capacitor that starts it are what usually give out first under that kind of heat, and when they do, the air stops getting cold even though the system still runs. On top of both seasons, this area sees real storms, 11 winter storms and 103 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and enough power interruptions that a furnace or AC can shut down mid-cycle and need to be checked before it's trusted again.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 27°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 87°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $120 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Vanderburgh County home.
Estimates for a typical Vanderburgh County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Indiana fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
In Indiana, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the counties and cities.
Check whether Vanderburgh County requires a license.
Sources: Indiana Department of Workforce Development · State of Indiana
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat, not just fan, and that the temperature is set above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker for the furnace, and on a gas furnace make sure the switch on the unit itself and the gas valve are both on. Winter nights here drop to around 27°F, so a furnace that will not start is not something to leave for long. If power and settings check out and it still will not run, the igniter or the flame sensor is a common failure point, and that is a job for a contractor.
- 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 blow air that is barely cooled. Check the outdoor unit too. If the outdoor fan is not spinning or the coil is covered in leaves and dirt, the system cannot move heat out of the house even though it is running. Summer afternoons here reach 87°F, so a system that runs constantly without cooling is worth checking the same day. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and the air still is not cold, the refrigerant charge or the compressor needs a contractor to look at it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat batteries and settings, then check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker. A surprising number of no-heat and no-cool calls come down to one of those two things. Next, check the air filter. A filter that is packed with dust chokes off airflow and can make a furnace or air conditioner shut itself down or run without doing much. If you have a gas furnace, confirm the gas valve and the switch on the unit are both in the on position. Wind and winter storms are common enough here that a breaker trip or a dead thermostat after an outage is worth ruling out before anything else. If you have checked all of this and the system still is not working, that is the point to call a contractor.