HVAC Installation in DeKalb, IL
A new system here will heat from October through May and cool from June through August every year. Tell us about the house, and a licensed contractor who covers DeKalb County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
DeKalb County asks a lot of a heating and cooling system
Winter nights here average 17°F from December through February, and homes need the furnace running from October through May, eight months of the year. That is most of the year spent asking one system to hold a house at temperature through real cold, not just take the chill off. Summer is shorter but still real work, with afternoons averaging 82°F from June through August.
Between the two seasons, a system here is doing something eleven months a year. Whatever gets installed has to hold up on the coldest nights and the hottest afternoons, not just the months in between. Most homes in the area heat with gas, and a new furnace has to meet the federal efficiency minimum, which matters over eight months of runtime.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 82°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
In Illinois, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
Illinois has no state HVAC license. That kind of licensing would mean the state tested the contractor and kept a record of who is qualified, and Illinois does not do that. Instead it leaves the rule to individual cities and towns, so whether this job needs a local license depends on where in DeKalb County the house sits.
For an installation like this one, in most cities and counties the local building office requires a permit for a furnace, air conditioner or heat pump replacement, with an inspection once the work is done. That inspection is what checks the job was done right. It is not a license, and it does not test who did the work, only whether the finished installation meets code.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- When should I replace my HVAC system?
- Replace your furnace or air conditioner when repairs start coming often, or when the unit is old enough that another breakdown feels like a matter of time. A contractor who has serviced the unit for years can tell you how much life is left in it better than any age cutoff can. DeKalb winters average 17°F from December through February, so a furnace that struggles to start is not something to wait out. If a contractor is already out for a repair, ask them straight what shape the rest of the system is in.
- Should I replace my furnace and air conditioner at the same time?
- If they are close in age, replacing both together is usually the better move. A furnace and air conditioner installed at the same time tend to wear out around the same time, so fixing one and leaving the other often means doing this again soon after. They also share parts in many systems, like the blower and the coil, so matching them keeps everything working the way it was designed to. If one unit still has years left in it, there is no reason to replace it early just to match the other.
- What happens during an HVAC installation?
- A contractor sizes the new equipment to your house, removes the old furnace or air conditioner, and sets the new one in its place. This includes connecting it to your ductwork, gas or electric lines, and thermostat wiring, then running the system to check airflow, pressure, and temperature. If ductwork needs sealing or a vent needs adjusting to work with the new equipment, that gets done as part of the job. Once it is running, the contractor should walk you through what you need to know about operating the new system before they leave.