HVAC Repair in Elkins, WV
Homes here need heat from September through May and cooling from July through July. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Randolph County will get in touch.
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It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, one month of cooling
Your furnace carries the season in Elkins. It runs from September through May, and on winter nights that average 21°F it cycles on and off for hours at a time. Each start puts strain on the igniter and the ignition control, and that is usually where a heating system here gives out first, often as a furnace that will not fire up on the coldest nights.
Cooling only matters in July, so the air conditioner sits idle most of the year. A compressor that has not run in months can struggle to start back up, and homeowners often notice it as warm air blowing or a unit that will not turn on at all when the first hot afternoon hits. West Virginia has also seen storms take out power for over a third of households for at least a day in 2024, and a furnace or air conditioner should come back on by itself once power returns. A system already showing signs of wear may not.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 1 months
- July through July, it cools
- 21°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
West Virginia requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The Commissioner of Labor issues the license, and it belongs to the contractor, not to any single job. The state tested them once and keeps a record of who holds it, and that record follows the contractor and the business, not each visit they make.
For a heating and cooling repair, that license is what stands behind the work. Whoever comes to fix your system should be able to show it, and the Commissioner of Labor's office is the place that record lives.
Source: West Virginia Legislature
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and set above room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead system. Next check the breaker and the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit. If those are fine, listen for what the furnace does when you call for heat. No sound at all points to power or the thermostat. A click followed by silence, or a burner that lights then shuts off, points to the igniter or a safety switch, and that needs a contractor. With lows near 21°F in Elkins winters, do not let this sit for days before getting someone out.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the filter first. A clogged filter chokes off airflow and the air handler can run for hours without actually cooling the house. Look at the outdoor unit too. If the coil is caked with dirt or leaves, or the fan is not spinning, heat has nowhere to go and the system loses its cooling power. If the filter is clean and the outdoor fan is running, the problem is likely low refrigerant or a failing part inside the unit, and that calls for a licensed contractor to check with gauges, not something to keep running while you wait.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and its batteries first, since a dead thermostat display can look like a dead system. Check the breaker panel for a tripped switch and the furnace's own power switch nearby. Check the filter and swap it if it is gray or clogged. Look at outdoor vents and the outdoor unit for anything blocking them, especially after wind or a storm, since Elkins has seen 56 damaging wind events over the past ten years. If you have done all that and the system still is not heating or cooling right, that is the point to call a contractor rather than keep testing things yourself.