HVAC Repair in Trenton, 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 Mercer County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
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Eleven months of work a year on your system
Mercer County only gives your system one real month off. Heat runs October through April, seven months, and on nights that average 26°F the furnace cycles on and off for hours at a stretch. Most homes here heat with gas, and every one of those cycles depends on the igniter lighting the burner cleanly. When it wears out, the furnace won't light at all.
Then summer flips the load the other way. Four months of cooling, June through September, with afternoons averaging 85°F. That kind of heat keeps the compressor running long hours to keep up, and it's what pushes a weak capacitor or a low refrigerant charge into a full breakdown. Add in the storms this area sees, winter systems and damaging wind both, and it's not just the heat and cold wearing on your equipment. Power interruptions do too, and most systems need a manual reset to start back up after one.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 26°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 $180 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Mercer County home.
Estimates for a typical Mercer 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 HVACR contractors before they can work, through the State Board of Examiners of Heating, Ventilating, Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Contractors, and keeps a record of who holds that license. It belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so it covers them from one repair to the next. Mercer County and its towns cannot add their own HVAC license on top of it, so the state board is the record that matters here.
For a repair on a heating and cooling system, that state license is what stands behind the person doing the work. It is the same license whether the job is small or large, since New Jersey does not license by job.
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 the temperature is set above the room temperature, since a setting bumped by accident is the simplest explanation. If that checks out, look at the furnace itself. A pilot light or igniter that will not stay lit, a tripped breaker, or a clogged filter cutting off airflow can all shut a furnace down. With winter nights here averaging 26°F, a furnace that will not start needs a contractor out quickly rather than left for a day when it warms up.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air is not cold, the problem is usually with the outdoor unit or the airflow, not the thermostat. Check the outdoor condenser to see if it is running and clear of leaves or debris, and check the filter, since a clogged filter can starve the system of airflow and leave it blowing warm air. A refrigerant leak or a failing compressor will also cause this, and neither is something to diagnose without a contractor. On an afternoon near 85°F, a system that runs but does not cool is not doing its job even though it sounds fine.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first, including the batteries if it has them, since a dead thermostat can look like a dead system. Check the breaker box for a tripped breaker, and check the filter, since a filter clogged with dust restricts airflow enough to cause both heating and cooling problems. If the system uses a condensate drain, check whether it is backed up, since some furnaces and air conditioners shut down on purpose when that happens. If none of that explains it, a contractor licensed by the state will need to look at the system directly.