HVAC Repair in Vineyard Haven, 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 Dukes County will get in touch.
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Ten months of running, on an island that loses power
Your heating and cooling system works ten months a year on Martha's Vineyard. Heat from October through May, then cooling in July and August. Winter nights average 27°F, and on those nights a furnace or heat pump cycles on and off for hours, putting a small load on the igniter or the compressor each time it starts.
About 40% of homes here heat with propane, which means a tank, lines and a regulator that all have to keep working right alongside the furnace itself. The island has seen 46 damaging wind events and 13 winter storms over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. Most heating systems restart on their own once power is back, but one that was already struggling before the outage will not fix itself just because the lights came back on.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 27°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $280 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Dukes County home.
Estimates for a typical Dukes 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 setpoint is above room temperature, and check that it has power if it runs on batteries. If the thermostat looks right, check your breaker panel, since a tripped breaker will shut the whole system down. Furnaces also stop for reasons you can't fix yourself, like a failed igniter or a flame sensor that needs cleaning, and propane furnaces won't run if the tank is empty. With winter lows here averaging 27°F, don't wait on a furnace that won't fire back up, a contractor can find the cause quickly.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check your 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 blower keeps running. Check that all your supply vents are open and unblocked by furniture or curtains. If the filter is clean and air is still weak or warm, the system likely has a refrigerant leak or a failing part, and that calls for a contractor with gauges to diagnose it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings first, including the mode, the setpoint, and the batteries if it has any. Check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since both furnaces and air conditioners will do nothing at all without power. Look at the air filter and replace it if it's dark with dust, since a clogged filter causes both weak heating and weak cooling. If your system runs on propane, check the tank level. Noting what you find, along with any sounds, smells, or error codes on the thermostat, will help a contractor get to the fix faster.