AC problems

Heating and Furnace Repair

The two or three cold weeks a year, when the heat side you never think about has to work.

Heating in north Houston is an afterthought until the February morning it is 28 outside and the furnace will not light. Most houses here have a gas furnace or a heat pump sharing the air handler with the AC, and because it runs so little, faults in it go unnoticed for years: a cracked heat exchanger, a dirty flame sensor, an igniter at the end of its life, a heat pump whose reversing valve has stuck.

The one that matters for safety is the heat exchanger. A crack in it can let combustion gases into the air the house breathes, and the only way to know is for a technician to inspect it. If you have a gas furnace and a carbon monoxide alarm is not fitted on each floor, that is the cheapest thing on this page.

Heat pumps have their own Houston quirk: in a cold snap they switch to electric backup heat, which works but costs a great deal more to run, and a heat pump that is always on backup heat has a fault. If the bill after a cold week was shocking, that is worth a look.

What it looks like

The furnace clicks but never lights
Cold air from the vents with the heat on
A smell of gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounding
An electric bill that spiked during a cold week

Whatever the problem turns out to be, the first step is the same: describe it, say where the house is, and one independent HVAC contractor working in your town contacts you to look at it. No charge for being connected, and no obligation once he has.

Where

Heating and Furnace Repair across north Houston

Humble

Subdivisions from the seventies to the nineties, so a lot of systems on their second or third replacement, with attic air handlers and original ductwork.

Kingwood

Big two-storey houses from the eighties under full tree cover, with upstairs that runs hot and air handlers in attics that reach 140.

Porter

Fast-growing Montgomery County, with builder-grade systems in the new subdivisions and older country houses on their original equipment.

New Caney

New construction along 59 beside acreage in the pines, with long power runs and surge damage after every storm.

Splendora

Rural lots, manufactured homes and older houses, where package units and window units are as common as central systems.

Crosby

East Harris County, older subdivisions near the lake, open land and salt air, which eats condenser coils faster than anywhere inland.

Dayton

Liberty County, country HVAC: heat pumps on propane-free properties, long drives for the technician, and nobody local to call.

The Woodlands

The biggest HVAC market north of Houston: large houses, often two or three systems each, and covenants on where an outdoor unit can sit.

Get connected

Tell us what the AC is doing

One independent HVAC contractor working in your town gets these details and contacts you. Nobody else does, and there is no charge and no obligation.

AC problem in north Houston?

Tell us what is going on and where the house is. One independent HVAC contractor working in your town contacts you directly. No obligation.