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Emergencies First. Four Answers Before You Read On.
Shut the system off at the thermostat. Running a failed compressor makes the repair bigger. Check the breaker once, and if it trips again leave it off. Then call us.
Heat that high turns a slow repair into a health problem for older residents, infants and pets. Get to a cool room while you wait. If the outdoor unit is running but the indoor fan is silent, say so when you call, because that narrows the fault before anyone leaves the shop.
A faint dusty smell on the first run of the season is normal and clears in an hour. A sharp electrical or plastic smell is not. Shut the system off at the breaker and call.
Dust burning off a heat exchanger smells like a hot iron and fades. Anything acrid, or any smell that comes with a tripped breaker, points at wiring or a motor. Do not restart it to check whether the smell comes back, because that is how a small fault becomes a fire.
Yes, urgent enough to act today. Switch the system off, mop what you can reach, and call. Water near electrical components does damage quickly and quietly.
Most of the time it is a blocked condensate drain, which is a small fix. The cost is rarely the drain and usually what the water reached first, whether that is a ceiling below, a subfloor, or the control board sitting inches away. Catching it the same day is the difference.
Get everyone outside first, then call 911 or the gas company. Do not go back in to investigate. Once the property is cleared, call us and we will test every appliance that burns fuel.
Carbon monoxide has no smell and no color, so the alarm is the only warning anyone gets. A cracked heat exchanger, a blocked flue or a back-drafting water heater can all cause it. We check combustion and venting on every appliance before the system goes back into service.
Air Conditioning
Long run times in extreme heat are normal. Never reaching the set point is not. The usual causes are low refrigerant from a leak, a coil packed with dirt, or a system that was undersized for the house from the start.
Each of those looks identical from the thermostat, which is why guessing wastes money. A technician can separate them in under an hour by reading pressures and airflow together. If the system is correctly sized and clean, the answer is often a duct problem rather than an equipment problem.
Ice means airflow or refrigerant has dropped below what the coil needs to stay above freezing. Turn the system to fan only and let it thaw fully before anyone works on it.
A clogged filter and a refrigerant leak produce the same sheet of ice, and running the unit while frozen can damage the compressor. Thaw first, then diagnose. If ice comes back within days of a thaw, the cause is a leak rather than a filter, and topping up without repairing it only books the same visit next summer.
In most cases yes, and the requirement changes across DC, Prince George's County, Montgomery County and the Northern Virginia jurisdictions. We pull the permit as part of the job.
Permits matter beyond compliance. An unpermitted changeout can surface during a home sale and can give a manufacturer grounds to decline a warranty claim. Because we are licensed in all three jurisdictions, the paperwork moves with the job rather than becoming something you chase afterwards.
It gets recovered into sealed cylinders and sent for reclamation. Venting it is illegal under federal law, and every technician handling it holds EPA 608 certification.
Older systems often run refrigerants that are being phased down, which is part of why repairs on ageing equipment keep getting more expensive. Recovery is not optional and it is not an upsell. If a company cannot tell you where your old refrigerant went, that is worth noticing.
No, and it is one of the more common expensive mistakes. An oversized system cools the air quickly, satisfies the thermostat, and shuts off before it has pulled any humidity out.
The result is a house that feels cold and clammy at the same time, plus short cycling that wears the compressor early. Correct sizing comes from a room-by-room load calculation against square footage, insulation and window area, not from matching whatever tonnage happened to be there before.
SEER2 measures cooling output against electricity used across a season. Higher is more efficient, but the payback depends on how much you run the system and what your ducts can deliver.
A premium unit fed through restricted returns will never reach its rated number, so the efficiency you paid for stays on the label. Where the ductwork is sound and the system runs hard through a DMV summer, the higher tier usually pays back. We work that out before recommending a tier.
Sometimes, but it is often a false economy. The outdoor condenser and indoor coil are engineered as a matched pair, and mixing an old coil with new equipment usually costs you both efficiency and warranty cover.
Where the indoor unit is recent and compatible, a partial replacement can make sense. Where it is the same age as the failed outdoor unit, you are replacing half a system and scheduling the other half for a year or two later. We will tell you which situation you are in.
Heating and Furnaces
Dust settles on the heat exchanger over a summer of sitting idle and burns off on the first few cycles. It is normal and it clears within an hour or two.
What is not normal is a smell that persists past the first day, or one that is sharp rather than dusty. Burning plastic points at wiring. A sulphur or rotten-egg smell means gas and means leaving the house first. If in doubt, shut it down and call rather than waiting it out.
It is the metal wall that separates the burner flame from the air you breathe. A crack lets combustion gases, including carbon monoxide, cross into the air being blown through your house.
There is no patch for a cracked exchanger. The furnace comes out of service and gets replaced or repaired with a manufacturer part, depending on age and availability. This is the one furnace finding where we will not offer you a cheaper option, because there is not a safe one.
That is short cycling. The furnace reaches temperature too fast, shuts down, then restarts minutes later. Common causes are an oversized furnace, a dirty filter choking airflow, or a thermostat placed somewhere misleading.
Short cycling burns more fuel than steady running and wears the ignition components fast. It also leaves the house unevenly heated, because the air never circulates long enough to reach the far rooms. Diagnosis starts with filter and airflow before anyone talks about equipment.
If it is past fifteen years and you are planning to stay in the house, replacing on your own schedule usually beats replacing in January. Planned work gets better equipment availability and a calmer decision.
A furnace that fails during the first cold snap gets replaced from whatever is in stock, at whatever the emergency rate is, on whatever day someone is free. Planning ahead also lets you look at whether a heat pump or a dual-fuel setup suits the house better than a like-for-like swap.
Heat Pumps
Modern cold-climate heat pumps hold useful capacity well below freezing, which covers the large majority of DMV winter hours. Below their design point, a backup heat source takes over.
The systems that disappointed people fifteen years ago lost capacity fast in the twenties. Today's variable-speed equipment does not behave that way. Sizing for the coldest likely night rather than the seasonal average is what keeps backup heat as a safety net rather than a monthly habit.
Yes, and for a house already on gas it is often the cheapest way to run a winter. The pairing is called dual fuel, and a control board picks whichever source is cheaper at the current outdoor temperature.
The heat pump carries the mild stretch, which in this region is most of the season. The furnace takes the deep cold. The saving depends on where the changeover point is set against your electricity and gas rates, which is a setting worth getting right rather than leaving on a factory default.
Usually yes. A heat pump needs a thermostat that understands backup heat and knows not to call for it unnecessarily, which a basic furnace thermostat cannot do.
Fitting the wrong thermostat is a quiet way to run expensive backup heat all winter without noticing. Some variable-speed systems also need a communicating thermostat from the same manufacturer to reach their rated performance. We specify the control as part of the system rather than as an afterthought.
Your electricity use rises and your gas use falls or stops. Whether the total drops depends on local rates, how well the house holds heat, and whether the system is sized correctly.
Most DMV homes see the summer bill improve as well, because a new heat pump replaces an ageing air conditioner at the same time. The number worth asking about is the annual total across both fuels, not the winter electricity line on its own.
Because the equipment sold in this region in the 1990s and 2000s genuinely struggled below freezing, and a lot of people remember a house that never felt warm. That reputation outlived the machines.
The other reason is installation. A heat pump moves far more air than the furnace it replaces, so ductwork sized for the old system can choke the new one. When a properly specified heat pump underperforms, the duct side is usually why.
Ductwork, Zoning and Thermostats
Often yes. Zoning splits the duct system into separately controlled areas with their own dampers and thermostats, so the second floor stops competing with the first for the same air.
It is not the answer everywhere. If the underlying problem is an undersized return or a crushed duct run, zoning adds controls on top of a delivery problem and the complaint survives. We measure airflow first and recommend zoning only where the ducts can support it.
By measuring static pressure, which is the resistance the system pushes against. High static pressure with healthy equipment points at the ducts nearly every time.
Symptoms overlap almost completely, which is why so much good equipment gets replaced for a duct fault. A system that struggles in one or two rooms while managing elsewhere is usually a delivery problem. A system that struggles everywhere at once is more likely to be the equipment.
Closing a couple is usually harmless. Closing several raises pressure across the whole system and tends to cost more than it saves.
Your blower was sized for a set number of open registers. Close too many and the extra pressure pushes conditioned air out through duct leaks instead, and the blower works harder to move less. If whole rooms genuinely go unused for months, zoning or a ductless head is the right answer rather than shut vents.
A programmable thermostat follows a schedule you set. A smart one adjusts to how the house behaves, learns how long it takes to reach temperature, and can be changed from your phone.
The saving comes mostly from not heating an empty house, which a programmable thermostat also does if anyone bothers to set it. Where smart controls earn their place is on heat pumps and zoned systems, where the decisions are more complicated than on or off.
Utility and state programs in DC, Maryland and Virginia have offered them in recent years, and the terms move regularly.
We will not quote a rebate we have not checked that month, because a lapsed program quoted back to us is worse than no rebate at all. What we can do is install to the standard the programs require, so the paperwork is available if you qualify.
Indoor Air Quality
A filter catches particles physically as air passes through. A purifier treats what a filter misses, usually with additional filtration stages. A UV light targets mold and bacteria growing on the coil rather than anything in the air.
They solve different problems and none of them substitutes for the others. A house with a pollen complaint needs filtration. A house with a musty coil needs UV. Buying all three without measuring first is how people spend money without changing anything.
No, and this catches people out. Filter ratings run on a MERV scale, roughly 1 to 16, and a higher number catches smaller particles. It also restricts airflow more.
Fit a filter your blower cannot pull through and you lose airflow, capacity and sometimes the coil to freezing. The right filter is the highest rating your specific system can handle, which depends on the blower and the duct design. That is a measurement, not a shelf choice.
An energy recovery ventilator brings fresh air in and stale air out while transferring heat and moisture between the two streams, so you ventilate without throwing away conditioned air.
Older leaky houses here rarely need one, because they ventilate through every gap already. Tight new builds often do, because almost nothing gets in or out on its own and everything indoors accumulates. Testing tells you which kind of house you have.
It helps, but it works downstream of the actual entry point. Pollen mostly arrives through open windows, on clothing and pets, and through gaps where ducts pull unfiltered air from attics and crawlspaces.
Sealing the duct side and upgrading filtration usually does more than a standalone purifier, and costs less. Where someone in the house has a serious allergy, the combination is worth it. We would rather show you the readings first than sell you a box.
Above 60 percent is where mold and dust mites become comfortable. The healthy band is roughly 30 to 50 percent, and a DMV August will push an unmanaged house past it easily.
High indoor humidity usually means an oversized air conditioner that short cycles, poor ventilation, or moisture coming up from a basement or crawlspace. Whole-home dehumidification fixes the symptom. Finding the source fixes the problem, and we look for that first.
Costs, Quotes and Financing
Because they are usually not the same job. Differences come from equipment tier, whether a load calculation was done, whether ductwork and electrical work are included, and whether permits are priced in.
The cheaper number often excludes the things that determine whether the system performs. Ask both companies for line items rather than a single figure. A quote that will not itemise is telling you something before the work starts.
Most often: the permit, the electrical upgrade an older panel needs, any duct modification, the condensate line, the pad or curb, and haul-away of the old equipment.
None of those disappear because they were not quoted. They arrive mid-job as change orders, when saying no has become difficult. Our estimates itemise what is included and name what is not, so the comparison you are making is a fair one.
It is the charge for sending a licensed technician to find the fault properly rather than guessing. Ours is $115, or $145 for emergency and after-hours calls, and it comes off the repair when the work is completed on the same visit. (Verified 22 September 2026.)
Diagnosis on modern equipment is skilled work, not a look under the lid. Beyond the first hour we charge in half-hour blocks, and you are told that before the clock starts. A company advertising free diagnosis has usually priced it into the repair instead.
Yes. After-hours and emergency visits carry a higher diagnostic rate, $145 against the standard $115. (Verified 22 September 2026.) You are told which rate applies before anyone is dispatched.
The premium reflects a technician leaving home at 2am, not opportunism. Where a fault can safely wait until the morning, we will say so and book you first thing instead. Where it cannot, the cost of waiting is usually higher than the callout.
Tax credits are claimed on your own federal return with the manufacturer's certification and your paid invoice. Utility rebates are claimed through the utility, usually within a set window after installation.
We provide the model numbers, efficiency ratings and invoice detail you need to file. We do not file on your behalf and we do not promise an outcome, because eligibility depends on the exact equipment and on programs that change.
Not always. Financing through Wisetack includes a zero percent option for qualified homeowners, with no prepayment penalty, and pre-qualification uses a soft credit check that leaves your score untouched.
Where you do not qualify for the zero percent tier, there is a cost of borrowing like any loan, and the offers are shown side by side before you commit. Nobody should sign a finance agreement without seeing the total.
Seasonal and Yearly Upkeep
Book cooling maintenance in March or April and heating maintenance in September or October. Both windows sit ahead of the first hard demand, which is the point of them.
Waiting until the first heat wave or the first freeze means booking into the busiest week of the season, alongside everyone whose system has already failed. A fault found on a mild Tuesday costs a service visit. The same fault found in a cold snap costs a night.
Every one to three months for a standard one-inch filter, more often with pets, allergies or building work nearby. Thicker media filters run longer, often six months to a year.
The honest test is to look at it monthly and change it when it is grey rather than when a calendar says so. A blocked filter is the single most common cause of the call-outs we attend, and it is the one thing on this page you can fix yourself in two minutes.
Do not switch it off. Set cooling to around 80 degrees in summer, or heating to around 55 in winter, so the house stays within a safe range without running much.
A closed-up house in a DMV August reaches humidity levels that grow mold on furniture and warp woodwork. In winter, a house left unheated risks frozen pipes, which costs more than a month of low-level heating ever would. Change the filter before you go.
Run the heat for twenty minutes on a mild day in early October, with the windows open if the dust smell bothers you. It is the cheapest test there is.
Most heating failures announce themselves on that first run, not in the middle of a cold snap. Finding a dead igniter in October means a scheduled visit. Finding it on the first freezing night means an emergency rate and a cold house while you wait.
Choosing a HVAC Contractor
Each jurisdiction licenses separately, so a company working across all three needs all three. Ask for the licence numbers and check them, because a company licensed in Maryland only cannot legally pull a permit in DC.
Ask about EPA 608 certification as well, which is federally required for anyone handling refrigerant. Fortiz HVAC Inc holds HVAC licensing in Maryland, DC and Virginia, our technicians are EPA 608 certified, and we hold NATE certification and ACCA membership.
Equipment make, model and efficiency rating. A line-item scope covering ductwork, electrical and permits. The warranty terms for parts and labour separately. A price that does not change unless the scope does.
If any of those are missing, the gap is where the disagreement will happen later. A proposal that names only a total and a brand is not a proposal, it is a number. Ask for the detail before comparing, because otherwise you are comparing two different jobs.
Yes. Sizing a replacement from the label on the old unit assumes the old unit was right, and assumes nothing about the house has changed since.
A load calculation accounts for square footage, insulation, window area, orientation and air leakage. It takes time, which is exactly why it gets skipped. A system sized from an old label is the most common reason a brand new installation underperforms from the first week.
Four things. Who pulls the permit. What the labour warranty covers and for how long. What happens if the equipment does not perform as quoted. And who to call if something goes wrong in year three.
The answers matter less than whether they come readily. A company that has thought about the third year will answer without hesitating.
Did Not Find the Answer You Were Looking For?
Ask us and we will answer it. Questions that come in here get answered directly and added to this page, so the next person looking for the same thing finds it already written.
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How This Page Was Built
Questions were drawn from Google Search Console query data for fortizhvac.com, the questions Fortiz HVAC Inc. technicians are asked on site, and People Also Ask results across the DMV.
Collection window: June to September 2026.
Verified on 21 September 2026
Next review: seasonally, ahead of the spring and fall booking peaks. Off-cycle review is triggered by any refrigerant or efficiency standard change and by any movement on a utility rebate or federal credit.