HVAC Repair in Dover-Foxcroft, ME
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Piscataquis County will get in touch.
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Ten months of heat, and nights that drop to 6 below
Your furnace or boiler in Piscataquis County runs from September through June, ten months a year. On winter nights that average 6°F, it cycles on and off for hours to keep up. More than half the homes here heat with fuel oil, so the burner and igniter carry that load winter after winter, and a worn igniter is what leaves a house going cold.
When the power goes out, the furnace or boiler stops even with a full tank, and it needs the power back before it will run again. Over half of Maine households lost power for at least a day in 2024, and this county has logged 147 winter storms and 61 damaging wind events over the past ten years.
- 10 months
- September through June, your system heats
- 6°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 74°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
- Why is my heat not working?
- A furnace or boiler that will not start usually comes down to power, fuel, or a safety switch that tripped. Check the thermostat has power and is set to heat above room temperature, then check the switch on the unit and the breaker. If you heat with fuel oil, look at the tank. Over half the homes here run on oil, and running out on a cold night is one of the most common reasons heat stops. Past that, a furnace that will not ignite or a boiler that will not fire needs a contractor to look at it, since the cause could be the igniter, a safety switch, or something in the fuel line.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower runs but the air is not cold, check the filter first. A clogged filter blocks airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice over, which stops it from pulling heat out of the air. Check the outdoor unit too. If it is not running while the indoor blower is, or if the coil has ice on it, turn the system off and let it thaw before calling for repair. A dirty filter is something you can fix yourself. A frozen coil that keeps coming back, or an outdoor unit that will not start, points to something a contractor needs to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it has power, is set correctly, and the setting is actually calling for heat or cooling. Check the breaker for the system and, on a furnace, the power switch that looks like a light switch nearby. Check the filter, since a dirty one restricts airflow in either a furnace or an air conditioner. If you heat with oil, check the tank level. None of this fixes every problem, but it rules out the simple ones before a contractor needs to come look at the actual equipment.