HVAC Repair in Orlando, FL
Homes here need heat from December through January and cooling from March through November. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Orange County will get in touch.
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Nine months of cooling, with storms in the mix
Your air conditioner runs from March through November here, and summer afternoons average 91°F. That is most of the year with the compressor working, and it barely gets a break before the next season starts. That kind of runtime wears on the capacitor and the contactor first. You notice it as a system that still turns on but stops cooling the house the way it did, or short cycles when it should be running steady.
Heat only matters two months out of the year, but Orange County has logged 64 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms here mean the power goes out. Most systems restart on their own once power returns, but a system already weak from a long cooling season is the one that fails to start at all.
- 2 months
- December through January, your system heats
- 9 months
- March through November, it cools
- 51°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
Florida requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Industry Licensing Board tests contractors before they get that license, and it keeps a record of who holds one. That license belongs to the contractor, not to the job, so the same license that covers a new install covers a repair like this one.
For a repair on your heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. Florida's board is what makes the contractor accountable here, on this job and any other.
Sources: Florida Legislature · Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most likely it is the igniter or a tripped limit switch, since 90.9% of homes here heat with electricity and electric furnaces and heat pumps are the ones that depend on those parts. Check your thermostat is set to heat and above room temperature, and check the breaker for the air handler or furnace hasn't tripped. If the outdoor unit is caked in ice, that points to a heat pump problem rather than a simple fix you can do yourself. Heat only matters here for December and January, so when it fails on a 51°F night it needs attention fast, not next week.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the filter first. A clogged filter chokes the airflow across the coil, and when that happens the coil can ice over so the air coming out of your vents feels weak or even warm. Turn the system off for a few hours to let any ice melt, put in a clean filter, and turn it back on. If it still is not cooling, the refrigerant charge or the outdoor unit could be the problem, and that calls for a licensed contractor with gauges. With summer afternoons here averaging 91°F, a system that is not actually cooling can turn a home dangerous quickly, so do not wait it out.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to the right mode, the temperature is actually set past what the room reads, and the batteries are not dead. Next check the breaker panel for a tripped switch, since a surge or a storm outage can trip a breaker even after power comes back on. Look at the filter and replace it if it is gray or clogged, since restricted airflow causes problems that look like bigger failures than they are. If the outdoor unit is running, check that nothing is blocking it, leaves, mulch, a fence panel too close. If none of that turns anything up, a licensed HVAC contractor can diagnose it properly. Florida requires an active state license from the Construction Industry Licensing Board, so it is worth asking for that license number before anyone works on your system.