HVAC Repair in Syracuse, NY
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from July through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Onondaga County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year on your system
Your furnace runs from October through May here, and on winter nights averaging 18°F it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch. Every start puts a load on the igniter and the heat exchanger. Most homes in this area heat with gas, so when the burner won't light or won't stay lit, the house goes cold fast.
Summer asks less of the system, just July and August, but afternoons averaging 79°F still push the air conditioner hard on the days it runs. This area has seen 22 winter storms and 186 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. Most furnaces and air conditioners come back on by themselves once power returns, but if yours doesn't, that's worth a service call.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 18°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 79°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $190 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Onondaga County home.
Estimates for a typical Onondaga 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. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, and check that it has power or fresh batteries. If the thermostat looks fine, check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker and check that the furnace switch, the one that looks like a light switch near the unit, is on. Gas furnaces also need the gas valve open, so if a pilot light went out or the unit shows an error light, that points to an ignition problem a contractor needs to look at. With winter nights here averaging 18°F, a furnace that won't start is worth calling in fast.
- 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 airflow drops too low the coil can ice over and stop cooling the air even though the system keeps running. Check that all your supply vents are open and unblocked by furniture or rugs, and check the outdoor unit to make sure grass, leaves, or debris aren't packed against it. If the filter is clean and the vents are clear but the air coming out still isn't cold, the system may be low on refrigerant or have a failing part, and that calls for a contractor to check it.
- 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. These cause more no-heat and no-cool calls than people expect, and they take a minute to rule out. For a furnace, check that the switch near the unit is on. For central air, check the outdoor unit isn't blocked and the air filter isn't clogged. If you've done all that and the system still isn't working right, tell the contractor what you checked. It saves time on the visit.