HVAC Repair in Salem, 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 Salem County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Salem County asks a lot of your system, most of the year
Your furnace works October through April here, and winter nights average 28°F. That is cold enough that the burner cycles on and off many times a night to hold the house steady, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those parts finally gives out, the furnace stops lighting and the house goes cold fast.
Come summer your air conditioner takes over for four months, working hardest on afternoons near 85°F. The compressor runs long stretches to keep up, and that kind of load is what wears down a capacitor or a contactor over time. Salem County has also seen its share of winter storms and damaging wind, and a power blip during a cold snap is often what exposes a part that was already close to failing.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 28°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 Salem County home.
Estimates for a typical Salem 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.
That license comes from the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, and it covers the contractor, not the individual job. Salem County and any town in it can't require their own separate HVAC license on top of that. Wherever the contractor is licensed in New Jersey, that license travels with them into this county.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that state license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It applies to the contractor as a whole rather than to this particular repair, so the license itself won't spell out what the job requires. What it means is that the person working on your system has met the state's requirement to hold that license in the first place, and no local government in Salem County can set a different rule.
Sources: New Jersey Legislature · New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and set above the room temperature, since a schedule or a battery running low can leave it stuck. If that is fine, check your breaker panel and any switch near the furnace that looks like a light switch, since that shuts off power to the unit for service and gets bumped or left off by mistake. Gas furnaces also need a pilot light or an igniter to fire, so if you hear the blower running but never feel heat, that is often where the problem sits. With nights here averaging 28°F in winter, a furnace that is not heating needs attention quickly, so if these checks do not find it, call a licensed contractor.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil, and when that happens the coil can freeze over and stop cooling the air even though the system keeps running. Check the thermostat is set to cool and below room temperature, and check the outdoor unit is not covered in leaves or grass clippings, since it needs airflow to release the heat it is pulling from your house. If the filter and outdoor unit are clear and it still is not cooling, especially on an 85°F afternoon, the system likely needs a licensed contractor to look at the refrigerant charge or the coil itself.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it, and the breaker for the system before anything else. Check the air filter and replace it if it is dirty, since restricted airflow causes problems in both furnaces and air conditioners. Look at the switch near the indoor unit that resembles a light switch, since it cuts power to the system and gets left off after service. If the outdoor unit is part of the system, clear away anything blocking it. A contractor licensed by the State Board of Examiners of HVACR Contractors will still need to diagnose anything these checks do not fix, but they rule out the simple causes first.