HVAC Repair in Bloomington, IL
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers McLean County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
McLean County asks a lot of your system, in both directions
Your furnace runs from October through May here. On winter nights averaging 20°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady, and every cycle puts wear on the igniter and the burner. Most homes in this area heat with gas, so when the igniter finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all and the house goes cold fast.
Come summer, the air conditioner takes over for four months, working hardest on afternoons near 84°F. That kind of sustained heat load stresses the compressor and can leave the system short on cooling just when you need it most. McLean County also sees its share of rough weather, with 136 damaging wind events and 11 winter storms recorded over the past ten years, the kind of thing that knocks out power and can leave a system needing a reset or a closer look once it's back on.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 20°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 84°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $150 a year off heating and cooling for a typical McLean County home.
Estimates for a typical McLean County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Illinois fuel prices and NOAA climate normals. Your home will differ.
Repair makes sense when one part has failed.
Replacement makes sense when the furnace's heat exchanger is cracked, the air conditioner's compressor has failed, or repairs keep coming.
In Illinois, HVAC licensing for homes is left to the cities and towns.
That means there is no state record of who is qualified to repair a heating and cooling system in McLean County. Whether a contractor needs a local license, and what that covers, depends on the city or town the house sits in. A contractor can be licensed on one side of a boundary and not the other.
For a repair like this, the part that matters most is the gas connection, since a bad one is the dangerous part of the job. Illinois state law does not name who checks that here. Whatever oversight exists comes from the city or town, not from any state record of the contractor.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat and the power to the furnace before you assume the worst. Check that the thermostat is set to heat and a few degrees above room temperature, and that its batteries are not dead. If it runs on gas, look for a pilot light or an igniter that is not lighting, and check that the switch on the furnace itself and the breaker are both on. A furnace that starts and then shuts off within a minute or two often has a flame sensor or airflow problem, and that needs a contractor to look at it. With winter nights here averaging 20°F, a furnace that will not stay lit is not something to wait out.
- 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 when that happens the coil can freeze even though the system keeps running. Look at the outdoor unit too. If the fan outside is not spinning, or the coil around it is dirty or covered in leaves and grass clippings, it cannot get rid of the heat it is pulling from the house. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is running and clear, the system may be low on refrigerant, and that is a contractor's job to check and fix.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and battery, the breaker or switch for the system, and the air filter. These checks account for a real share of the calls that turn out not to need a repair at all. Look outside too. If a storm knocked out power recently, the outdoor unit or furnace may just need to be reset, and most equipment starts back up on its own once power returns. If you have checked all of this and the system still is not heating or cooling, a contractor will need to look at what is inside the cabinet.