HVAC Repair in Staten Island, 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 Richmond County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, on a system that also has to survive the storms
Your furnace and your air conditioner are almost never both off in Richmond County. Heat runs October through April, then cooling picks up in June and holds through September. That is eleven months of one system or the other cycling on, with barely a break between them.
Winter nights averaging 28°F mean the burner is firing hard and often, and that kind of run time wears on the igniter and the ignition control first. Summer afternoons near 84°F push the compressor just as hard on the other end, and a coil that never gets a rest is the one that starts icing up or losing capacity. On top of that, this county has logged 13 winter storms and 36 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and outages follow. Across New York, 11% of households lost power for a full day or more in 2024. When power drops mid-cycle and comes back, most systems restart on their own, but a system already worn from the season's demands is the one that does not.
- 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 Richmond County home.
Estimates for a typical Richmond 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 and the power to the furnace before you assume the worst. If it's a gas furnace, check that the switch on the unit or nearby wall is on, and that the breaker hasn't tripped. A lot of no-heat calls in winter turn out to be a dead thermostat battery or a filter so clogged the furnace shut itself down to protect the heat exchanger. If those check out and you still have nothing, especially with lows near 28°F overnight, get a contractor out before the house cools down too far.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If air is moving but it isn't cold, the problem is usually with the refrigerant side, not the fan. A dirty filter or blocked vents can choke off airflow enough that the coil freezes up, and once that happens the air coming out feels weak or even warm. Check the filter first since that's the one thing you can see and fix yourself. If the filter is clean and you're still getting warm air on an 84°F afternoon, the system needs a technician to look at the coil and refrigerant charge.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it, and the breaker or switch for the unit itself. Check the filter next and replace it if you can't see light through it. Look at outdoor units for anything blocking airflow, like leaves or ice, and check that all supply vents in the house are open. If you've had a power outage recently, some equipment needs the power switch cycled or the pilot relit before it will start again. None of this costs anything but a few minutes, and it saves you a service call for something simple.