HVAC Repair in Charleston, SC
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through October. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Charleston County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work a year
Charleston County asks for heat from November through March and cooling from May through October. That leaves your system one month of rest. Summer afternoons averaging 89°F push the compressor hard for six straight months, and most homes here run on electric heat, so the same system carries the load in winter too, cycling on through nights near 41°F.
That much run time wears on the parts that start the system up, and storms add to it. Charleston County has logged 304 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and across South Carolina almost half of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. A unit that loses power mid-cycle and comes back online under strain is more likely to trip out or fail to restart on its own.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 6 months
- May through October, it cools
- 41°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 89°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often it's the thermostat, the power to the furnace, or the gas supply to it. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature, and check the breaker for the furnace hasn't tripped. If you heat with electricity, like most homes here do, a tripped breaker or a bad heating element can leave you with no heat at all. If the furnace runs but no warm air comes out, or it won't stay lit, that points to 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 air is moving but it's not cold, check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust chokes airflow across the coil, and on a summer afternoon here pushing 89°F, a starved coil can freeze up and stop cooling altogether. If the filter is clean and the air still isn't cold, the refrigerant charge or the outdoor unit itself may be the problem, and that's a job for a contractor. Also check that nothing is blocking the outdoor unit, since leaves or grass clippings packed against it will cut its ability to shed heat.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Confirm it's set to the mode you want, heat or cool, and that the batteries aren't dead if it uses them. Next check the breaker box for a tripped breaker, since storms are common here and 45% of South Carolina households lost power for at least a day in 2024, which can trip a breaker without you noticing. Then pull the air filter and hold it up to a light. If you can't see light through it, replace it. If the system still isn't working after that, a contractor will need to diagnose it further.