HVAC Repair in Burlington, NJ
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Burlington County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work a year on your system
Burlington County only gives your system one real month off. Heat runs October through April, then cooling takes over in June and doesn't let up until fall. That is eleven months of a furnace or an air conditioner cycling on and off, day after day.
Winter nights averaging 27°F mean the burner is lighting often, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the ignition control board. In summer, afternoons pushing 85°F keep the compressor under steady load for hours at a stretch. Most homes here heat with gas, and gas furnaces need power to run the blower and controls, so when a storm knocks the power out, as it does for over a tenth of New Jersey households in a given year, heat does not come back until the power does.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 27°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 85°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $170 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Burlington County home.
Estimates for a typical Burlington 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.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
New Jersey requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
New Jersey tests HVAC contractors before they can work and keeps a record of who holds that license, through the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors. The license belongs to the contractor, not to the individual repair job. No town or city in New Jersey can require its own separate HVAC license on top of that.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that state license is what stands behind the work. Whoever comes out to do the repair should be able to show it, and it was the state that tested them and put it in their hands, not the town.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often the thermostat is calling but something between the switch and the flame or heat strip has failed. On a gas furnace, check that the switch on the unit and the one that looks like a light switch near it are both on, since that second one cuts power to the furnace and gets bumped or turned off by mistake. If the furnace has a standing pilot, look for the small flame itself. If it uses an igniter instead, you will not see a flame at all when it fails, and that is a job for a contractor. A dirty filter can also starve the system of airflow until it shuts itself off to protect the heat exchanger, so check that before anything else. With lows averaging 27°F here in the winter, a furnace that will not start needs attention the same day.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The blower is moving air, but that air is not cold, which usually points to the refrigerant side rather than the fan itself. A frozen evaporator coil is common, and it happens when airflow is restricted, often by a filter that has not been changed. If the coil is frozen, turn the system off and let it thaw fully before running it again, or you risk sending liquid refrigerant back to the compressor. A refrigerant leak will cause the same weak cooling but will not clear on its own and needs a contractor to find and seal it. With afternoons here reaching 85°F in the summer, a system that runs without cooling is worth checking the same day rather than waiting.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it is set to heat or cool as needed, the batteries are good if it uses any, and the set temperature is actually past where the room sits now. Check the filter next and replace it if it is visibly dirty, since a clogged filter causes problems on both the heating and cooling side. Look at the breaker for the system and any power switch mounted on or near the unit itself, since a tripped breaker or a switch left off will stop the system cold. If the outdoor unit is involved, clear away leaves, grass clippings or anything blocking it. If none of that fixes it, a licensed contractor can diagnose what is actually wrong. New Jersey requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license, so check for that before hiring anyone.