HVAC Repair in Portland, ME
Homes here need heat from September through May and cooling from July through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Cumberland County will get in touch.
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Nine months of heat, and the power doesn't always stay on
Your furnace runs September through May here. On winter nights averaging 15°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a time, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. Almost half the homes in this area heat with fuel oil, so the burner and the ignition system are doing that work night after night through the coldest months.
The other problem is the power. More than half of Maine households lost power for at least 24 hours in 2024, and the last ten years brought 115 winter storms and 145 damaging wind events. When the power drops, an oil furnace stops, and it needs that power back to start again. Summers are short here, just July and August, with afternoons around 78°F, but when your air conditioner won't start after an outage or a storm, you notice fast.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 78°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the set temperature is above room temperature, since a stray setting is an easy thing to miss. If that checks out, look at the breaker for the furnace or the switch that looks like a light switch near it, often at the top of the basement stairs. Furnaces that run on fuel oil, and a lot of homes in Maine do, will not fire if the oil tank is empty, so check the gauge. Past that, a furnace that will not start is usually the igniter, a flame sensor, or the blower motor, and those need a contractor to diagnose.
- 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 bringing the temperature down. Next check that the outdoor unit is not blocked by leaves, grass clippings, or anything piled against it, since it needs open air on all sides to work. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear and the house still is not cooling, the refrigerant charge or the compressor may be the problem, and that calls for a contractor.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and its batteries first. A dead battery or a setting bumped by accident causes a lot of no-heat and no-cool calls. Next check the breaker panel and any dedicated switch for the furnace or air handler, since a tripped breaker looks the same as a dead system from the thermostat's point of view. Look at the air filter and replace it if it is gray or matted, since restricted airflow causes both heating and cooling problems. If the system runs on fuel oil, check the tank level. After that, if the system still is not working, it is time to call a contractor, since anything past this points to a part that needs diagnosis.