HVAC Repair in Fairbanks, AK
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Fairbanks North Star Borough will get in touch.
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Eleven months of heat, and nights near -10°F
Your furnace in Fairbanks works from August through June. On winter nights averaging -10°F, it runs long and often to keep the house warm, and most homes here do it with fuel oil. That kind of steady demand wears on the burner and the igniter faster than a system that gets to rest most of the year.
Summer brings a short break, with afternoons averaging only 70°F, so almost all the wear falls on the heating side. When the power goes out, an oil furnace will not restart on its own once electricity is back. Someone has to relight it, and in 2024, 21% of households in Alaska went at least 24 hours without power.
- 11 months
- August through June, your system heats
- -10°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 70°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
Alaska requires contractors to register with the state.
That registration puts the business on file with the state and nothing more. Nobody tested the contractor on furnace repair or refrigerant work to get that number, and no trade exam stands behind it.
So the number on file is not what protects you on a job like this. A bad gas connection is the dangerous part of a heating repair, and registration alone does not check that. What actually keeps a repair like this safe is the skill and care of the contractor doing the work, since the state's rule stops at the paperwork.
Source: Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, and check the batteries if it has a screen that looks dim. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since a furnace that lost power will not run at all. With most fuel oil furnaces, an empty or near empty tank will also stop the burner from firing, so check the gauge if you heat with oil. If none of that explains it, something inside the furnace needs a contractor to look at it, especially with nights running near -10 degrees where you do not want to wait this out.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air is not cold, check the filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice over when that happens, which makes the problem worse the longer it runs. Check outside too, if your system has an outdoor unit, and clear away anything blocking it. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and you still are not getting cold air, the system needs a contractor to check the refrigerant charge and the coil.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and batteries first, since a wrong setting or a dead battery can look exactly like a bigger problem. Check your breaker panel for anything tripped. Check the filter and replace it if it is gray or clogged, since a blocked filter can cause both weak heat and weak cooling. If your furnace runs on fuel oil, check the tank level too. Write down what you find either way, since it will help the contractor get to the actual problem faster once they come out.