When the heat goes out in Berkeley, CA, the clock starts running, and the diagnosis depends entirely on what kind of system is doing the failing. On a gas furnace, the most common no-heat call we run is a flame sensor coated in oxide: the burners light, the sensor cannot prove the flame, and the board shuts the gas down three tries later and locks out. Close behind come cracked hot surface igniters, stuck pressure switches, clogged condensate traps on high-efficiency models, and blower motors that have quietly worn out. Heat pumps fail differently: a weak defrost cycle leaves the outdoor coil armored in ice, a failed reversing valve strands the system in cooling, and a dead outdoor unit leaves the electric backup strips carrying the whole house at several times the operating cost.
Most of our service calls are for Furnace Repair. That's the place to start if you need a fix today.
Warning Signs for Heating Repair
Catching these issues early helps you avoid costly problems. These are the signals our technicians see most often:
- Thick ice or frost covering the heat pump outside
- The furnace clicking and trying to light but shutting back down
- Strange smells from the vents, especially rotten egg or burning
- Frequent on-off cycles that never bring rooms up to temperature
- Higher heating bills with less comfort to show for them
- Booming or banging at ignition, a sign of delayed burner light-off
- Cold rooms in one part of the house while others are comfortable
- Cold air, or no air at all, when the thermostat calls for heat
Don't Wait for a Total Failure
What seems like a minor issue today can take out a compressor or heat exchanger tomorrow. Call (510) 201-4758 at the first sign of trouble.
