Furnace Repair in Jersey City, NJ
Furnaces here run from October through April. If yours quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Hudson County will get in touch.
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Seven months of heat, 28 degree nights
Your furnace works from October through April here, and on winter nights that average 28°F it runs long stretches to keep up. That kind of steady demand wears on the igniter and the flame sensor, the parts that light the burner and confirm it caught. When one of them fails, the furnace tries to start and can't, and the house goes cold on the coldest nights, right when you need it most.
Most homes in Hudson County heat with gas, and a gas furnace needs power to run its controls even though the flame doesn't. Winter storms here are common enough that outages happen, and across New Jersey about 11% of households lost power for a day or more in 2024. When the power drops mid-storm, the furnace stops with it, and it should start again on its own once power returns.
- 7 months
- October through April, your furnace is on duty
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 65%
- of homes here heat with gas, so most furnaces here burn gas
- 16 winter storms
- in ten years, the nights a failure hurts most
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace would cut about $140 a year off heating for a typical Hudson County home.
Estimates for a typical Hudson 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 one part has failed and the heat exchanger is sound.
Replacement makes sense when the heat exchanger is cracked or the furnace keeps needing parts.
New Jersey requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
New Jersey tests and licenses the contractor, not the individual job, so the license on file covers the person or company doing the work, not just this repair. The state board keeps that record, and because the license belongs to the contractor, no city or town in New Jersey can layer its own license requirement on top of it.
For a furnace repair, the licensed contractor is what stands behind the work. Most furnaces in Hudson County run on gas, and a loose or faulty gas connection is the part of the job that can turn dangerous, which is why the state puts a tested, licensed contractor on that work rather than leaving it unregulated.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
- Why won't my furnace turn on?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat, not cool, and that the temperature is set above the room temperature. If the thermostat looks fine, check the power switch on the furnace itself, often a light switch near the unit, and the breaker at your panel. Gas furnaces also need the pilot light or igniter working and the gas valve open, so if the switch and breaker are fine, the problem is likely inside the furnace and worth having a licensed contractor look at.
- Why is my furnace blowing cold air?
- Most often this means the furnace is running the blower but the burners haven't lit. Check the thermostat fan setting first. If it's set to "on" instead of "auto", the blower runs constantly and pushes cold air between heating cycles, which feels like the furnace isn't heating at all. If the fan is set to auto and you're still getting cold air, the igniter or flame sensor may be failing to light the burners, and that's a repair for a licensed contractor.
- Why won't my furnace pilot light stay lit?
- The thermocouple is the most common cause. It's the small sensor that sits in the pilot flame and tells the gas valve the flame is lit. When it wears out or sits out of position, the gas valve shuts off the pilot even though it was burning fine a moment before. A draft blowing across the pilot, or a dirty pilot orifice, can cause the same thing. A licensed contractor can tell which one it is and replace the part if needed.