Furnace and heat pump repair when New Orleans gets cold
A cold front arrives, the heat comes on for the first time since March, and nothing happens. We repair gas furnaces, heat pumps and heat strips, and a person answers the phone at any hour.
Answered 24/7Mid-City service officeSlidell head officeEvery major brand
Most heating failures in New Orleans show up on the first cold morning after months off: a dirty flame sensor that shuts the furnace down, a failed igniter, a heat pump stuck in cooling mode, or heat strips on a tripped breaker. Many of these are fixed on the first visit, and a no-heat call on a cold night is treated as urgent.
Signs your heating system needs repair
- Furnace clicks, starts and shuts down
- Heat pump blowing cold air in heat mode
- Breaker trips when the heat comes on
- Burning smell that does not fade after a few minutes
- Thermostat calling for heat with nothing happening
- Outdoor unit iced solid for hours
- Carbon monoxide alarm sounding
Why heat fails on the first cold day
Updated September 2026
Heating equipment here sits idle for eight or nine months in a humid attic. Burners rust, flame sensors collect a film, igniters crack, and dust builds up. Then the first cold snap asks it to work, and the weak part fails right away.
Heat pumps fail differently. The reversing valve that switches them from cooling to heating can stick after a long summer, and defrost controls get their first real test in January. We diagnose both kinds of system, and we check for gas and carbon monoxide safety on every furnace call.
How a heating repair call runs
- 1
Call and safety check
If you smell gas, leave and call the gas company first; otherwise we triage by phone.
- 2
Fault codes and readings
Board codes, gas pressure, amperage and temperatures checked.
- 3
Safety inspection
Heat exchanger, flue and carbon monoxide checked on gas systems.
- 4
Price before parts
The repair explained and priced.
- 5
Repair
Igniters, sensors, relays and sequencers usually from the truck.
- 6
Full heat cycle
System run through a complete cycle before we leave.
Furnace Not Igniting
The furnace clicks, the inducer fan runs, and then it shuts down, or it tries three times and locks out. The usual causes are a dirty flame sensor, a cracked hot-surface igniter, a clogged condensate trap on a high-efficiency unit, or a pressure switch that will not close. We read the control board's fault code, test each component and replace what failed. A flame sensor cleaning is a short repair; an igniter is usually on the truck, so most of these calls end with heat restored the same visit.
Typical New Orleans-area planning range: $75-$150 standard hours; $200-$275 after hours. Market data, not our quote; your price depends on the factors below.
Heat Pump Blowing Cold
In heating mode a heat pump delivers air that feels lukewarm compared to a furnace, which is normal. Air that is actually cold points to a reversing valve stuck in cooling, low refrigerant, a failed defrost board, or a thermostat configured for the wrong equipment. We check the reversing valve coil, the refrigerant pressures and the thermostat settings before anything is replaced, because the wrong guess here gets expensive quickly. A reversing valve replacement is a major repair, and it is often not the part that failed.
Heat Strips Not Working
Electric heat strips in the air handler back up the heat pump in a hard freeze and provide all the heat on systems with no heat pump. When they fail, the usual causes are a tripped breaker, a burned sequencer or relay, a broken element or a limit switch that has opened. We test each stage safely with the power isolated. If the strips trip the breaker, we check whether the circuit was undersized from the start, because replacing an element on an overloaded circuit only sets up the next failure.
How long before the heat is back
Flame sensors, igniters, relays and sequencers are usually replaced on the first visit, so most calls end with heat restored the same day. Control boards, inducer motors and heat pump reversing valves sometimes need to be ordered; when that happens we tell you the wait and talk through safe ways to keep the house warm until the part arrives.
Heating that runs a few weeks a year
Winters in south Louisiana are short and usually mild, so heat pumps here carry nearly the whole heating load and the backup strips run only a few hours a year. That is exactly why they fail when they are finally needed: parts that have not run since the last freeze get their first test on the coldest morning. We test the strips and the defrost cycle on every fall heating call.
Brands we service and install
We repair and install Trane, Carrier, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem, Ruud and the other major lines, plus Mitsubishi Electric ductless.
What affects the cost of a heating repair
The diagnostic visit is the first cost; the repair depends on the failed part.
System type
Gas furnaces, heat pumps and heat strips use different parts.
The failed part
A flame sensor clean differs from a control board or inducer motor.
Access
Attic furnaces in tight spaces take longer to service.
Timing
Nights and weekends carry a premium at most shops.
Parts availability
Older furnaces may need a universal part or a wait.
Safety findings
A cracked heat exchanger changes the conversation to replacement.
Questions about Heating Repair in New Orleans
A few minutes of that after months off is normal. A lasting smell, or any gas odor, is a call now.
That is normal in heating mode. Air that feels cold is not, and usually means a reversing valve or defrost fault.
Usually a dirty flame sensor or failed igniter. The board locks out after several tries.
On a cold night, especially with young children or older family members at home, yes. We treat it that way.
That is the defrost cycle. A few minutes of steam is normal.
Yes, on every gas furnace call, along with the heat exchanger and flue.
All major brands, including Trane, Carrier, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem and Bryant.
Yes. A fall heating tune-up catches most of these failures before the first cold front.
More heating we handle in New Orleans
Heating Tune-Up
Gas furnace safety check, heat pump heating check and more.
Our heating tune-up serviceElectric Heat Strip Repair
Element and Limit Switch Repair, sequencer, relay and breaker problems and more.
Electric Heat Strip Repair in New OrleansFurnace Installation & Replacement
Gas furnace replacement, 80% vs 96% afue and more.
Gas furnace replacementNo heat on a cold morning?
Call any hour. We will get you through the night and back to a working system.
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