Top-rated independent heating and cooling across north Georgia and the southern Appalachians
Nothing But Cold Air
Your house is cold, the thermostat says heat, and nothing is happing at the vents. No hum, no warm air, maybe a click and then silence. We handle heating repair on heat pumps, gas and propane furnaces, and dual-fuel systems across Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Here is how we work through a no-heat call, in the order we actually do it.
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STM Heating & Air service team · field-reviewed before publishing
What "no heat at all" usually means
A total no-heat is different from weak heat. Weak heat points at airflow, refrigerant charge on a heat pump, or a system that is undersized for a cold snap. Nothing at all usually means the sequence stopped before it started: the thermostat never called, the call never reached the equipment, or the equipment tried and shut itself down on a safety. That is good news in one way. Total failures tend to have one clear cause, and the cheap causes are common. Before you assume the worst, note what you hear when you raise the thermostat. Silence, a click, a short run then a stop. Those three sounds send us down three different paths.
Cause family one: controls and power
This is the cheapest family and it catches more calls than people expect. Dead thermostat batteries, a thermostat bumped to cool or to a schedule that dropped the setpoint, a tripped breaker, or the service switch on the furnace turned off by someone working in the crawlspace. On ridge homes with propane, we also find the tank valve closed or the tank simply run low after a cold week. Nobody called for a delivery. A blown low-voltage fuse on the control board sits in this family too, though that one is ours to handle, because a fuse that blows again means something shorted and that needs tracing.
Cause family two: airflow and safety lockouts
Furnaces protect themselves. A filter packed solid, a blocked return, or closed vents through most of the house can overheat the heat exchanger and trip a limit switch, which shuts the burners down. The unit may try, run a minute, and quit, over and over. On the heat pump side, a snowed-in or leaf-buried outdoor unit and a clogged condensate drain both cause shutdowns. In red clay crawlspaces we see drain lines silted up more than anywhere else. These lockouts feel like a broken system, and often the underlying restriction is simple. The repeat cycling is the tell.
Cause family three: ignition, flame sensing and failed parts
When a gas or propane furnace tries and gives up after three attempts, we are usually looking at ignition. A cracked hot surface igniter, a flame sensor coated in residue, a pressure switch that cannot prove draft because the inducer is weak or the flue is blocked. On heat pumps, a failed reversing valve, contactor, capacitor or defrost board leaves you with cold air and nothing else. Dual-fuel systems add a wrinkle: the changeover control may be holding the furnace off while the heat pump struggles in low outdoor temperatures. Diagnosing which one takes meter readings, not guesses.
What you can safely check, and what we do differently
Safe for you: thermostat batteries and settings, the breaker, a fresh filter, clearing leaves or snow from around the outdoor unit, and confirming supply vents are open. That is the whole list. Do not open a gas furnace, touch refrigerant lines, or work on high-voltage components. If you smell gas or a carbon monoxide alarm sounds, get everyone out of the house first, call 911 or your gas utility from outside, then call us. On our end we read control board fault codes, check inducer draft and gas pressure, meter capacitors and contactors, and test the safety chain in sequence, so the repair matches the actual failure.
Nothing But Cold Air — fast answers
Why does my furnace start and then shut off after a minute?
That short-cycle pattern usually means a safety is tripping. Overheating from a dirty filter or restricted return, a flame sensor that will not prove flame, or a pressure switch issue. Change the filter, open vents, and call us if it repeats.
My heat pump is running but blowing cool air. Is that normal?
Heat pump air feels cooler than furnace air, so lukewarm can be normal. Cold air is not. It can be a reversing valve, a defrost cycle stuck on, or low charge. Have it checked before backup heat runs constantly.
Should I use space heaters until you arrive?
Use them carefully and only as a short-term bridge. Keep them clear of bedding and furniture, plug directly into a wall outlet, never an extension cord, and turn them off when you sleep or leave. Call us and we will schedule the heating repair.
How it works
- Step 1
Tell us the symptom
Call or fill in the quote form and describe what you hear, smell or feel. Warm air, short cycling, a breaker that keeps tripping. That gives us a head start on the likely cause.
- Step 2
We diagnose on site
A technician checks the thermostat, airflow, electrical connections, refrigerant performance and the outdoor unit. We work the crawlspace and the attic too, because ductwork and drainage cause more trouble than people expect.
- Step 3
You decide, then we fix it
We explain what failed, what it takes to repair it, and what we would watch next season. No work starts until you say go. Most repairs finish the same visit when parts are on the truck.
- A real person answers
- Open 7 days
- Written quote before work starts
Why homeowners call us
- Mixed heating is normal to usHeat pumps, propane furnaces and dual-fuel setups all behave differently in cold weather. We know how a heat pump should sound in the thirties and when the backup heat is doing too much of the work.
- We go under the houseRed clay crawlspaces hide crushed ducts, sweating lines and standing water. Comfort problems often start down there, not at the unit, so we look before we start replacing parts you may not need.
- Plain explanationsYou get told what broke and why, in words that make sense. If a repair is a short-term patch on an aging system, we say that out loud so you can plan instead of guessing.
- One crew, six statesWe serve homeowners across Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. Same approach in every one: show up, diagnose properly, repair what needs repairing, leave the space clean.
- All major brands, gas & electricOne independent crew for Carrier, Trane, Lennox, Goodman, Rheem and more.
- Straight answersNot worth fixing? We say that out loud, and often it saves you the visit fee.
About this guide
Safe checks done and it still misbehaves? That's a real fault
Mention which checks you ran when you book; it speeds up the visit.
- A real person answers
- Open 7 days
- Written quotes
- All major brands
- Gas & electric
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