HVAC Repair in Quincy, IL
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from June through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Adams County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, most years
Quincy only gets one month off. Heat runs October through April, seven months, then cooling picks up June through September. Winter nights average 22°F, cold enough that a furnace cycles on and off many times a night just to hold the house steady. Every one of those starts puts wear on the igniter and the parts that get the burner lit.
Summer afternoons average 85°F, so the condenser outside works hard too, and it doesn't get much of a break before heating season starts again. Add in the storms, eleven winter storms and 48 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and the power goes out. Most of these systems come back on their own once power is restored, but a storm that knocks out power on a 22°F night is still a cold house until it does.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 4 months
- June through September, it cools
- 22°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 85°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 Adams County home.
Estimates for a typical Adams 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.
Illinois has no state HVAC license, so there is no state test behind the person coming to work on the system and no state record to check. Whether anything is required at all depends on the town or township, since some municipalities license HVAC contractors and others do not.
For a heating and cooling repair, that means the protection here is not a license standing behind the work, the way it would be in a state that tests and records contractors. Gas connections are the part of this job that matters most if something is done wrong, and in Illinois, checking that work is left to whatever the local township or municipality does, not to any state licensing body.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it's set to heat, not cool, and that the temperature you want is above the room temperature. If that's fine, check the breaker for the furnace and, if you have a gas furnace, make sure the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit hasn't been bumped off. Nights here drop to 22°F in the middle of winter, so a furnace that won't start needs attention fast. If power and settings check out and it still won't run, that points to something inside the unit, like the igniter or a safety switch, and it needs a contractor to look at it.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The most common cause is a dirty filter choking off airflow. Pull it out and hold it up to a light. If you can't see through it, replace it. If the filter is clean and air is still weak or warm coming out of the vents, the coil inside the unit may be frozen over, which happens when airflow is restricted for a while. Turn the system off and let it thaw before trying anything else, since running it while frozen can damage the compressor. If it cools fine after a fresh filter, that was the problem. If not, a contractor will need to check refrigerant levels and the coil itself.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first. Make sure it's set correctly, the batteries are good if it uses them, and the display is on. Next check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker, and if you have a gas furnace, check that the switch near the unit is on. Look at the filter and replace it if it's dirty, since a clogged filter causes both heating and cooling problems. If your outdoor unit has power but the reader inside won't respond, or you smell gas, stop checking and call a contractor. Power outages are common enough here that it's worth checking the breaker before assuming the unit itself has failed.