HVAC Repair in Springfield, IL
Homes here need heat from October through April and cooling from May through September. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Sangamon County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Springfield asks a lot of your system, in both directions
Your furnace carries the house from October through April, and winter nights here average 22°F. On the coldest nights it cycles on and off for hours, and every start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor. When one of those finally fails, the furnace either won't light or shuts itself off partway through the cycle.
Then summer flips the load onto the air conditioner for five straight months, with afternoons averaging 85°F. That kind of run time wears on the capacitor and the condenser fan, the parts that keep the outdoor unit moving heat out of the house. Sangamon County also sees its share of damaging wind, 198 events over the past ten years, which is hard on outdoor units and on the power feeding them. About 16% of Illinois households lost power for a full day or more in 2024, and most gas furnaces need electricity to run their controls and blower even though the burner itself doesn't. When the power comes back, the system should start on its own, but if it doesn't, that points to something worth having checked.
- 7 months
- October through April, your system heats
- 5 months
- May 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 Sangamon County home.
Estimates for a typical Sangamon 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.
In Sangamon County, that means whatever protection exists comes from Springfield or whichever town the house is in, not from a state license board. Illinois keeps no record of who is qualified to do this work. Some towns in the county may require a local license before a contractor can take on a job, others may not, and which applies depends on the address the repair is at.
For a heating and cooling repair, the gas connection is the part that matters most, since that is where a mistake turns dangerous. There is no state license standing behind that work here, only whatever the local town requires, and that varies by address across the county.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most often the igniter has failed or the flame sensor is dirty, and either one will stop a gas furnace from producing heat. A thermostat set wrong or a breaker that tripped can look like the same problem, so check both first. If the furnace runs but blows cold air, the burners aren't lighting even though the blower is working. With nights averaging 22°F here in the winter, don't wait on this one. A contractor can tell you which part failed once they're on site.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- The most common cause is a dirty air filter choking off airflow, so check that first since it's the one thing you can fix yourself. If the filter is clean, the coil inside might be frozen over, and that happens when airflow is restricted or refrigerant is low. A refrigerant leak won't fix itself and needs a licensed contractor to find and seal it. On an 85°F afternoon a struggling system falls behind fast, so it's worth having someone look at it soon rather than waiting.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat first, make sure it's set to heat or cool and the batteries aren't dead. Then check the breaker panel for a tripped switch, since that alone stops a system cold. Pull the air filter and hold it up to a light. If you can't see light through it, it's overdue for a change and could be the whole problem. If none of that explains it, a contractor will need to look at the equipment itself.