HVAC Repair in Bend, OR
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Deschutes County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of heating a year, in winters that drop to 22°F
Your furnace in Bend runs from September through June. That is ten months of cycling on and off, lighting, heating, shutting off, and doing it again. Winter nights average 22°F, cold enough that the furnace works through most of the night to keep the house warm.
All that cycling wears on the igniter and the flame sensor first. You will notice it as a furnace that takes a few tries to light, or one that lights and then shuts off on its own. Summers stay mild here, averaging 77°F in the afternoon, so the wear on your system falls almost entirely on the heating side. Close to half of homes in the area heat with electricity, and when a winter storm knocks out power, the furnace stops until it comes back on. Deschutes County has seen 83 winter storms and 24 damaging wind events over the past ten years.
- 10 months
- September through June, your system heats
- 22°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Construction Contractors Board licenses the contractor, not each individual job. That license means the state has tested the contractor and keeps a record of them on file. In Oregon, work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor, so that threshold covers small jobs, not a repair like this one.
A heating and cooling repair involves real money, and if gas is part of the system, a connection that has to be done right. In Oregon, the license is what stands behind that work. It belongs to the contractor rather than to this one job, so it is the contractor's record, not a piece of paper tied to this repair alone, that backs up the work done in your home.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead system. Check the breaker for the furnace or air handler, and if you have a gas furnace, check that the gas valve is open. If the furnace runs but no warm air comes out, or it will not start at all, that points to something inside the unit like the igniter 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 is running but the air is not cold, check the air filter first. A clogged filter chokes airflow across the coil and can ice it up, and once that coil is frozen, the system may run for hours without cooling anything. Also check outside that the outdoor unit has power and the fan is spinning. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is running but the air inside still is not cold, the system likely has a refrigerant leak or a coil problem, and that needs a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it if it has any, and the breaker for the furnace or air conditioner. Check that the air filter is not clogged, since restricted airflow causes problems that look like bigger failures. If you have a gas furnace, check that the gas valve is open and any exterior vent or intake pipe is not blocked by snow or debris. If those all check out and the system still is not working, the problem is inside the equipment, and a licensed contractor will need to diagnose it and price the repair for your system.