HVAC Repair in Fort Thomas, KY
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Campbell County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, most years
Fort Thomas only gets a break from heating or cooling for about a month a year. Furnaces run October through April, and on the nights that drop to 26°F the burner is cycling on and off most of the night to keep up. Every cycle depends on the igniter catching, and a weak one starts skipping lights until it stops working at all.
Summer runs shorter, June through September, but afternoons near 85°F push the air conditioner hard for the whole stretch. The compressor is what strains under that kind of heat, and if it's low on refrigerant or the coil is dirty, the house stops cooling down even with the unit running constantly. Almost half the furnaces in the area run on gas, and either fuel type still depends on steady power. Campbell County has seen its share of winter storms and wind over the past ten years, and when the power drops, the system just stops until it's back.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 26°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $140 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Campbell County home.
Estimates for a typical Campbell County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Kentucky fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
Kentucky requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
Kentucky's Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction issues the license and keeps the record of who holds one. It's tied to the contractor, not to any single job, so the same license that covers this repair covers the next one they do for someone else in the state.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that license is what stands behind the person working in your home. It's how the state keeps track of who is doing this work across Kentucky, not just on this one job.
Sources: Kentucky Legislative Research Commission · Kentucky Department of Housing, Buildings and Construction
- Why is my heat not working?
- The first thing to check is the thermostat, since a dead battery or a setting knocked to cool will stop the furnace cold. If that is not it, check the breaker and the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit and gets bumped off more often than you would think. Gas furnaces also shut down when the igniter fails or the flame sensor gets dirty, and neither of those is something to fix yourself. With winter nights here averaging 26°F, a furnace that will not start needs a contractor out quickly rather than a few days of troubleshooting on your own.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- A system that runs but does not cool is often a sign the airflow or the refrigerant side has a problem, not the compressor itself. Check the filter first, since a clogged one chokes off airflow across the coil and can make the system run without much cooling to show for it. If the filter is clean, look at the outdoor unit and make sure nothing is blocking it, since a coil packed with leaves or grass clippings can't shed heat properly. If both of those check out, the system likely needs a contractor to check refrigerant levels and the coils, since low refrigerant points to a leak that will not fix itself.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first, since the wrong setting or dead batteries cause a lot of calls that have nothing to do with the furnace or air conditioner itself. Check the breaker box and any switch on or near the unit, since a tripped breaker or a flipped switch will stop the system cold. Check the filter, since a clogged one restricts airflow and can make a working system seem broken. If the outdoor unit is involved, make sure nothing is blocking it. If you have checked all of this and the system still is not working right, a licensed contractor will need to diagnose it further.