HVAC Repair in Oregon City, OR
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Clackamas County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat, one season off
Your furnace in Oregon City runs from September through June. That is ten months lighting, heating, shutting off, and doing it again the next night. Winter nights average 32°F, right at the freezing line, so the burner is working hardest through the coldest stretch of the year. All that cycling wears on the igniter and the flame sensor first. When one of those goes, the furnace either won't light or shuts itself off partway through a cycle, and the house goes cold.
Summer only asks the system to hold the house around 73°F, so the air conditioner gets an easy season here. The bigger risk in this area is the power. Clackamas County has had five winter storms and two damaging wind events over the past ten years, and statewide, one in five households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. A furnace that loses power stops heating until the power is back, and most come back on by themselves once it is.
- 10 months
- September through June, your system heats
- 32°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 73°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 the job. That license is on file with the state and tied to the business doing your repair, not issued fresh for each service call. In Oregon, work under $1,000 does not need a licensed contractor, so a small fix may fall outside that requirement.
A repair to a heating and cooling system is the kind of work that license applies to. The CCB record is what stands behind the business doing the work in your home, not a guarantee on any single repair.
Source: Oregon Legislative Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature, since a bumped setting is an easy thing to miss. If that's not it, check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since a furnace that lost power will look the same as one that failed. Gas furnaces also need power for the igniter and control board even though gas fuels the flame, so a power problem can shut down a gas furnace too. If the breaker is fine and the thermostat is set right, the furnace needs a contractor to look at it. Winter nights here average 32°F, so this isn't something to leave for later in the day.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow, and when air can't move through the system, the house doesn't cool even though the unit is running. If the filter looks clean, check that the outdoor unit isn't blocked by plants, leaves, or debris, since it needs airflow around it to release heat. Beyond that, a system running without cooling often points to a refrigerant leak or a failing compressor, and those need a contractor to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and its batteries if it uses them, since a dead thermostat display can look like a dead system. Check your breaker panel for anything tripped, and check that any furnace or AC power switch nearby is flipped on. Look at the air filter and replace it if it's dirty, since restricted airflow causes problems that have nothing to do with the equipment itself. If the system uses a standing pilot light, check whether it's lit. Beyond these, most repairs need a licensed contractor to diagnose safely, and a contractor will price the job once they know what's wrong.