HVAC Repair in Lynn, MA
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 Essex County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of work a year on your system
Lynn only gives your furnace or heat pump two months off. From October through May the heat runs, and on winter nights that drop to 21°F on average, the burner or the compressor cycles on and off for hours at a stretch. Every start is a strain on the igniter and the ignition control, and that's usually where a no-heat call on a cold morning starts.
July and August bring the other end of it, with afternoons near 79°F asking the air conditioner to run long stretches at a stretch. Add in the wind. Essex County has seen 256 damaging wind events over the last ten years, and wind like that finds loose flashing, knocks debris into an outdoor condenser, or knocks out the power. About 1 in 10 Massachusetts households lost power for a full day or more in 2024, and when it comes back, a furnace or air conditioner needs its switch turned back on to start again.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 21°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 $230 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Essex County home.
Estimates for a typical Essex County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Massachusetts 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 is set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature, since a setting bumped by accident is a common cause. If that is not it, check your breaker panel and any gas valve for the furnace, since a tripped breaker or closed valve will stop it cold. On a gas furnace, a pilot light that will not stay lit usually points to the igniter or the flame sensor, and that is a job for a contractor. With winter nights here averaging 21°F, a furnace that will not run needs attention 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 the system can run for hours without cooling the house down. Next look at the outdoor unit and clear away any leaves or debris pressed against it. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear but the air coming from the vents is not cold, the refrigerant charge or the compressor may be the problem, and that needs a contractor's gauge to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it if it has any, and the breaker for the system. A tripped breaker or a thermostat set to the wrong mode causes more no-heat and no-cool calls than any broken part. Look at the air filter too, since a filter that has not been changed in a while chokes airflow on both a furnace and an air conditioner. If everything there checks out and the system still is not working, a contractor will need to look at it directly.