HVAC Repair in St. Helens, OR
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Columbia County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heating with barely any summer to rest
St. Helens needs heat from October through June. That is nine months of a furnace or heat pump cycling on through winter nights that average 34°F, with only a short stretch of summer afternoons near 75°F in between. More than half the homes here heat with electricity, so that system runs almost the whole year with little downtime.
That much runtime wears on the parts that start the system each cycle. When one gives out, you notice heat that will not come on, or air that runs but never gets warm.
- 9 months
- October through June, your system heats
- 34°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 75°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
Oregon requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Oregon licenses HVAC contractors through the Construction Contractors Board. That license belongs to the contractor, not to each job, so it covers the business doing the work rather than this specific repair. Work under $1,000 does not require a licensed contractor in Oregon.
For a repair on your heating and cooling system, the license is what stands behind the person doing the work, tested and on record with the state. If the job falls under that $1,000 threshold, that requirement does not apply.
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 is easy to miss. If the thermostat looks right, check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since more than half the homes here heat with electricity and a tripped breaker will stop the system cold. If the furnace or heat pump runs but no warm air comes out, or it will not turn on at all, a contractor needs to look at it. With winter nights here averaging 34°F, this is not one to leave for a few days.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow, and the system can run for hours without actually cooling the rooms. Next check that the vents in each room are open and nothing is blocking them, since furniture or boxes pushed against a vent cuts off the air just as much as a closed one. If the filter is clean and the vents are clear but the house still is not cooling, the system likely has a problem a contractor needs to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the breaker panel, and the air filter. Each takes only a few minutes to look at and catches a real share of the calls that get made. If the thermostat is set correctly, the breaker has not tripped, and the filter is not clogged, but the system still is not heating or cooling, the problem is inside the equipment. Oregon requires a licensed contractor for this kind of work, and a contractor can price the job once they see what is wrong.