HVAC Repair in Columbia, SC
Homes here need heat from November through March and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Richland County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work, most of it electric
Your system in Richland County works almost year round, heat from November through March, cooling from May through September. Only two months off. Summer afternoons average 91°F, so the compressor runs long hours to keep up, and that kind of runtime wears on the parts that keep it cool, like the capacitor and the condenser fan motor. Winter nights average 36°F, cold enough that a heat pump has to work hard to keep the house warm, and most homes here heat with electricity rather than gas.
That electric reliance matters when the power goes out. Nearly half of South Carolina households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and the county has logged 360 damaging wind events over the past ten years. When power drops and comes back, most systems restart on their own, but anything already stressed by a summer of long runtime is more likely to fail right when you need it again.
- 5 months
- November through March, your system heats
- 5 months
- May through September, it cools
- 36°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 91°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- 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 setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead system. If that's fine, check the breaker for the furnace or air handler, and check the filter, since one that's packed with dust can choke off airflow and cause the system to shut itself down. If the furnace runs on gas, listen for it trying to start. A few clicks followed by silence usually points to the igniter or the flame sensor, and that's a repair for a contractor. If nothing happens at all, electric heat strips or a heat pump that's lost power are common causes, especially after a storm. With 45% of South Carolina households losing power for at least a day in 2024, a reset after an outage is worth checking too.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The blower running without cold air usually means the refrigerant side of the system isn't working, even though the fan is. Check the outdoor unit first. If the coil is covered in ice or the fan isn't spinning, that's a sign of a refrigerant problem or a failed capacitor, and it needs a contractor to fix. Check the filter next, since a clogged one restricts airflow enough that the coil inside can freeze over and stop cooling. If the outdoor unit is running hot and loud but the air inside is just room temperature, the compressor itself may have failed. On afternoons near 91°F, a system stuck in this state won't catch up on its own, so it's worth getting looked at quickly.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. Confirm the mode, the setting, and that it has power, since a dead battery in the thermostat can look exactly like a dead system. Check the breaker box next, since a tripped breaker is common and easy to miss. Pull the filter and hold it up to the light. If you can't see through it, replace it, since a clogged filter is behind a lot of the calls that turn out not to need a repair at all. If the system is outside, walk out and look at it. Ice on the coil, a fan that won't turn, or a burning smell all tell a contractor something different, so noting what you saw will help them get to the fix faster.