HVAC Repair in Manhattan, NY
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 New York County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, most buildings tucked into a single system
Your system in New York County works almost year round, heat from October through April, cooling in June through September. Only one month goes by without either running. That kind of schedule doesn't give parts much time to rest.
Winter nights averaging 28°F mean long, steady burner cycles all night. Summer afternoons near 84°F push the compressor hard for four straight months. Both ends wear on the same equipment, so a weak igniter or a strained compressor tends to show up right when you need it most. With storms knocking out power for 11% of New York households at least once last year, a system that already stalls on a cold night can end up down for longer than the cold spell itself.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 28°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $150 a year off heating and cooling for a typical New York County home.
Estimates for a typical New York County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, New York 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.
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat and the set temperature is above the room temperature, and make sure it has power if it runs on batteries. If the thermostat looks fine, check the switch on the furnace itself and the breaker at the panel, since a tripped breaker or a switch bumped to off will stop the whole system. Gas furnaces also have a pilot light or an igniter, and if the pilot went out or the igniter has failed, the furnace will not fire even though the fan may still run. A furnace that starts and stops on its own usually needs a contractor to look at it, since that points to a part failing rather than a setting.
- 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 ice over and stop cooling the air even though the fan keeps blowing. Next look at the outdoor unit and clear away any leaves, grass clippings or anything else pressed against it, since it needs open airflow to release the heat it is pulling out of the house. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear but the air coming from the vents is not cold, the system is likely low on refrigerant or has a failing part, and that calls for a contractor with gauges to find out which.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it if it uses them, and the breaker for the system at your panel. A tripped breaker, dead batteries, or a thermostat set to the wrong mode account for a lot of no-heat and no-cool calls. Check the air filter next and replace it if it is gray or clogged, since restricted airflow causes problems in both summer and winter. Look at the vents around the house too and open any that were closed, and outside, clear leaves or debris away from the condenser unit. If you have done all this and the system still is not heating or cooling, a contractor will need to diagnose it, and they can price the repair once they know what is wrong.