AC Repair in Hackensack, NJ
Air conditioners here run from June through August. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Bergen County will get in touch.
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Three months of real heat in Hackensack
June through August, your air conditioner runs hard through afternoons that average 84°F. That is a short season, but it asks a lot of the unit in a short stretch of time, and the strain shows up as the summer wears on.
Hackensack has also seen its share of severe weather, with 155 damaging wind events and 42 hail events over the past ten years, including hail up to 2.5 inches. Wind can rattle loose the panels and fins on an outdoor unit, and hail that size can dent a coil or bend it enough to slow airflow. If your air conditioner is cooling less than it used to, or the outdoor unit looks banged up after a storm, that history is worth mentioning to whoever comes to look at it.
- 3 months
- June through August, your air conditioner is on duty
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- 42 hail events
- in ten years, and hail bends the fins on outdoor coils
- 155 wind events
- in ten years, and wind drives debris into outdoor units
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new air conditioner would cut about $30 a year off cooling for a typical Bergen County home.
Estimates for a typical Bergen County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New Jersey fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when a part like a capacitor or contactor has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the compressor has failed or the system uses R-22 refrigerant, which is no longer made.
New Jersey requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tests contractors before they get this license, and the Board keeps a record of who holds one. It covers the contractor, not the individual job, and it applies the same way everywhere in New Jersey since towns and cities here cannot layer on their own licensing rule on top of it.
For a repair on your air conditioner, that license is what stands behind the person doing the work. If the repair means opening the refrigerant side of the system, the technician also needs to hold EPA Section 608 certification, which is a federal requirement in every state and separate from New Jersey's license. Between the two, the work is covered by someone who was tested on the trade and someone certified to handle the refrigerant itself.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
- Why is my AC not blowing cold air?
- Most of the time it is low refrigerant from a leak, a dirty condenser coil outside, or a filter so clogged the airflow cannot pull heat out of the house. In Hackensack, where summer afternoons run around 84°F, a system already low on refrigerant will struggle to keep up. Check the filter first. If it is clean and the air is still warm, the refrigerant side needs a technician with EPA 608 certification to open it up safely.
- Why is my AC leaking water?
- Water around your unit usually means the condensate drain line is clogged or the drain pan has rusted through. As your AC pulls moisture out of the air, that water is supposed to run out through the drain line. If algae or dirt block that line, the water backs up and spills out where you can see it. A cracked or overflowing drain pan does the same thing. Either problem is worth having looked at soon, since standing water can damage the floor or ceiling beneath the unit.
- Why won't my AC turn on?
- Start with the thermostat and the breaker before assuming the worst. A dead thermostat battery, a tripped breaker, or a switch bumped off at the outdoor unit will all keep it from starting. If those check out, the problem could be the capacitor that starts the compressor or the contactor that sends it power. Hackensack sees its share of high wind, 155 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and a power blip during a storm can trip a breaker without you noticing. If the basics are fine and it still will not start, a licensed contractor can test the electrical components directly.