HVAC Troubleshooting Guides for Long Island Homes

What can you safely check before calling for HVAC service?

Thermostat settings and batteries, the service switch and breaker, the filter, the fuel supply and anything blocking the outdoor unit are all safe to check, and they solve a fair share of calls. Anything inside a burner, a gas valve, wiring or refrigerant lines is a job for a technician.

Heating guides

• Oil Burner Reset Button: When to Press It and When to StopWhen the red button on an oil burner is safe to press, what to check first, and why you only press it once.
• Boiler Pressure Too High or Too Low: What the Gauge Is Telling YouWhat a normal boiler pressure reading looks like, what high or low pressure means, and when to shut it off.
• Baseboard Heat Not Working? A Practical ChecklistA step-by-step checklist for cold hot-water baseboard, from the thermostat to the boiler.
• Heat Pump Iced Up in Winter: Normal Frost or a Problem?How to tell normal winter frost and defrost from a heat pump that is iced up and needs service.
• Furnace Pilot or Ignitor Not Lighting: What to Check SafelyHow a gas furnace lights, how to read its status light, and the safe checks before calling.

Cooling guides

• Mini-Split Error Codes: How to Read Them and What to DoHow the major ductless brands display fault codes, what the common ones mean, and what to check before calling.
• AC Short Cycling: A Quick Checklist Before You CallA practical checklist for an air conditioner that keeps starting and stopping.

Controls guides

• Thermostat Blank or Not Responding: What to CheckWhy a thermostat goes blank or stops calling for heat or cooling, and the checks that fix most cases.