HVAC tips
Free troubleshooting for the HVAC problems people call us about most. Some of these you can fix yourself — and we would rather you did.
Troubleshooting
Before you call us
If none of this solves it, that is genuinely useful information — tell us what you already tried.
The furnace is blowing cold air
Check the thermostat is set to Heat and the fan is on Auto rather than On — a fan set to On blows room-temperature air between burns and feels like a fault. Then check the filter: a blocked filter overheats the exchanger and trips the limit switch, which shuts the burner down but leaves the fan running.
How often should I change the filter?
Every one to three months depending on the filter and whether you have pets. It is the single cheapest thing that affects both your bill and the life of the equipment. A restricted filter makes the blower work harder, cuts airflow and is a common cause of frozen coils in summer.
My AC is running but not cooling
Check the filter and the outdoor unit. If the outdoor coil is packed with cottonwood or dust it cannot reject heat. If there is ice on the refrigerant line, switch the system to Fan Only to thaw it and call us — ice usually means low refrigerant or restricted airflow, and running it that way damages the compressor.
What temperature should I set for the swamp cooler?
Evaporative coolers work on airflow, not a thermostat set-point, and they need a window or two cracked to exhaust the air they push in. If it is running and the house is humid and not cooling, the outdoor humidity is too high for it that day — that is the system working as designed, not a fault.
When should I book a tune-up?
Cooling in spring, heating in early fall. Both are before the season loads the equipment, and both are when we still have availability. By the first hard freeze every heating company in the region is running emergencies.
Should I close vents in rooms I do not use?
No. Closing vents raises static pressure across the whole system, which reduces airflow, strains the blower and can crack a heat exchanger over time. If some rooms are genuinely unused, a zoning system or a mini-split is the right answer.
Still not right?
Tell us what you already checked — it speeds the diagnosis up.