Articles
Troubleshooting guides, seasonal tips, and stories from the High Ground team.
Heating & Cooling
How to Upgrade Your HVAC System in New Jersey at 0% Interest Through Your Utility
New Jersey homeowners can get a new furnace, boiler or heat pump financed at 0% APR on their utility bill, with rebates on top. It is one statewide program delivered through seven different utilities, which is exactly why it is so confusing. Here is the map.
Rich Jordan · August 27, 2026
Plumbing
What's Really In Your Tap Water (And What You Can Do About It)
Your municipal treatment plant was built to solve 20th-century problems. The list of things that end up in the water supply has changed a lot since then. Here is what the research actually says, and what you can do about it at your own house.
Rich Jordan · August 20, 2026
From the Team
Culture isn't just a poster on the wall.
We have ten Core Behaviors at our company. These aren't decorative words in our conference room - they're mantras our team speaks in hallways and repeats in trucks every single day.
Rich Jordan · November 20, 2025Heating & Cooling
The Federal HVAC Tax Credit Expired. Here Is What That Means for New Jersey.
The 25C credit paid up to $2,000 on a heat pump and $600 on a furnace. It ended 31 December 2025. If a contractor is still quoting it in your total, that is a real problem with your quote - and the utility programs are now doing the work it used to do.
Rich Jordan · August 31, 2026Heating & Cooling
PSE&G Whole Home Energy Solutions and Heat Pump Incentives
PSE&G runs the largest residential energy efficiency program in New Jersey - up to $7,500 in rebates, $25,000 at 0% APR, and heat pump conversion incentives on top. We are not an enrolled PSE&G contractor, and this guide is written anyway.
Rich Jordan · August 31, 2026Heating & Cooling
JCP&L Energy Efficiency Financing: The Complete Guide
JCP&L's 0% financing runs through the National Energy Improvement Fund, and it works differently from the gas utility programs - credit tiers set your ceiling, an approved rebate unlocks the rate, and only NEIF-approved contractors can access it.
Rich Jordan · August 30, 2026Heating & Cooling
Elizabethtown Gas HVAC Rebates and 0% Financing: What You Need to Know
Elizabethtown Gas customers can get up to $1,750 in equipment rebates and up to $25,000 financed at 0% APR on the gas bill. The rebate is smaller than some neighbors get. The financing is identical, and the financing is where the money is.
Rich Jordan · August 29, 2026Heating & Cooling
NJNG SAVEGREEN: How to Get a New Furnace at 0% Interest
New Jersey Natural Gas customers can stack up to $3,650 in equipment rebates with up to $25,000 of 0% APR financing repaid on the gas bill. Here is what qualifies, what it costs, and the two exclusions that catch people out.
Rich Jordan · August 28, 2026
Plumbing
Chlorine Byproducts: When the Cure Creates the Problem
Chlorination is one of the great public health achievements of the last century and I am not going to argue against it. But the chlorine reacts with organic matter in the water and makes something else - and your hot shower is a bigger exposure route than your drinking glass.
Rich Jordan · August 26, 2026
Plumbing
Pesticides in Your Drinking Water: The Atrazine Problem
Atrazine has been banned in the European Union since 2004. It is still one of the most heavily used herbicides in America and one of the most frequently detected pesticides in drinking water. The federal limit was set decades ago.
Rich Jordan · August 25, 2026
Plumbing
BPA, Phthalates and Endocrine Disruptors
BPA shows up in over 90% of Americans tested. The BPA-free replacements look like they behave the same way. These compounds are not on any drinking water report, and conventional treatment does not remove them.
Rich Jordan · August 24, 2026
Plumbing
Microplastics: What We Know and What We Do Not
Microplastics are in tap water, bottled water, food, air, and human blood and placental tissue. The WHO says current levels do not appear to pose a health risk. Both of those statements are true. Here is how to hold them at the same time.
Rich Jordan · August 23, 2026
Plumbing
Hormones and Pharmaceuticals In Your Drinking Water
Every prescription filled in your town eventually reaches the watershed. The concentrations are tiny, nobody is required to test for them, and the fish downstream are telling us something. Here is what the evidence supports and what it does not.
Rich Jordan · August 22, 2026
Plumbing
PFAS: The Forever Chemicals In Your Water
Nearly half of U.S. tap water contains PFAS, the federal deadline just moved to 2031, and four of the six regulated compounds are proposed for rescission. Here is what that actually means in New Hampshire, Maine and New Jersey - and what removes them.
Rich Jordan · August 21, 2026
From the Team
Thermostats & Thermometers
A leader's job isn't to report the environment. It's to shape it.
Rick Debernardo · July 1, 2026
Heating & Cooling
Goodman Furnace Error Codes: The Official Chart and How to Read Yours
Goodman does not use one flash-code chart. Three different diagnostic systems are in the field, and the code table from Goodman’s own service manual is below.
January 6, 2026
Plumbing
How to Choose a Plumber in Manchester, NH
What to verify before you hire, what a real quote contains, and the questions that separate a licensed plumber from someone with a van.
January 4, 2026
Plumbing
Plumbing Emergency in Manchester: What to Do in the First Ten Minutes
Water is running and you need to stop it. What to shut off, in what order, and which situations mean leave the building rather than troubleshoot.
January 4, 2026
Plumbing
Plumbing Maintenance That Actually Prevents Something
Most maintenance advice is filler. These are the few checks that genuinely stop the expensive failures, and the ones not worth your Saturday.
January 4, 2026
Plumbing
Plumbing in Manchester, NH: What the Housing Stock Does to the Job
Manchester homes are old, the water is hard in places, and the frost line is deep. Here is what that changes about plumbing work, and what it costs you if nobody accounts for it.
January 4, 2026
Plumbing
Toilet Repair: What It Is, What It Costs, and What to Try First
Most toilet problems are one of four parts, and two of them you can replace yourself. Here is how to tell which one you have.
January 4, 2026
Plumbing
Why Pipes Freeze in Manchester Homes, and How to Tell It Is Too Late
Frozen pipes are a building problem, not a weather problem. Where they start in this housing stock, what to do while it is still frozen, and the sign that it has already split.
January 3, 2026
Electrical
Generac Error Codes: What Generac Actually Publishes
The code lists circulating online contradict each other. Here is what Generac publishes, why the codes differ by controller, and the handful you can act on yourself.
November 29, 2025
Electrical
Generator Leaking Oil: Where It Comes From and What It Means
Five places a standby generator leaks oil, how to tell a seep from a real leak, and why a low oil alarm on a standby unit is more serious than on a car.
November 29, 2025
Heating & Cooling
Goodman Furnace Error Codes: What to Do About Each One
What each Goodman error code actually points at, which ones a homeowner can act on, and the four that mean shut the furnace off and call.
November 29, 2025
Heating & Cooling
Mitsubishi Mini Split Error Codes: How to Get the Right Answer
Mitsubishi code meanings differ by series, and the lists online contradict each other. Here is how to read your code, where the authoritative answer lives, and the faults you can clear yourself.
November 29, 2025
Plumbing
Rheem Water Heaters: What We Actually See Fail
We install and service these, so this is not a neutral review. It is what breaks, what lasts, and which of the decisions in front of you actually matters.
November 29, 2025
Plumbing
Rinnai Error Code 11: What It Means and What to Check
Code 11 is no ignition. Three things are worth checking yourself, and the rest is a technician with a manometer. Here is Rinnai’s own procedure and the numbers it checks against.
November 29, 2025
From the Team
We Listen and Take Swift Action
One of our Leadership Standards at High Ground is "We listen and take swift action."There's a reason this matters so much to us. It's about team morale. It's about buy-in.
Rich Jordan · November 29, 2025
From the Team
The Foundation of High Performance: Autonomy, Confidence, and Impact
It came from watching exceptional people thrive under certain conditions and watching those same people disengage when those conditions disappeared.
Rich Jordan · November 28, 2025
From the Team
The Ground We Stand On
Our mission is simple: Give the trades a good home. Provide craftsmanship that endures, and a home where tradesmen and women can become their best selves through their craft.
Conor Kelley · November 26, 2025