HVAC Repair in Sterling, IL
Homes here need heat from October through May and cooling from June through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Whiteside County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eight months of heat, three of cooling, and not much rest between
Your furnace in Sterling runs from October through May. Winter nights average 17°F, and on those nights the burner cycles on and off many times to hold the house at temperature. Each start puts a small strain on the igniter and the ignition control board, and after enough winters one of them fails to light the burner at all.
Summer asks less of the system but still asks something. Afternoons average 83°F from June through August, and the compressor runs hard to keep up. Most homes here heat with gas, so the furnace does the harder job most of the year while the air conditioner covers a short, hot stretch. Whiteside County has seen 21 winter storms and 58 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. When the power drops, a gas furnace with a standing pilot stays lit but the blower has nothing to push the air with, and most systems need that power to start back up once it returns.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 17°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 83°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $160 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Whiteside County home.
Estimates for a typical Whiteside 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 does not test or license HVAC contractors at the state level, so there is no state record behind the person doing this repair. The rule instead depends on where the house sits. Some cities and towns require a local license for HVAC work, others do not, and whichever applies here comes from the local building office, not from the state.
That means the license, where one applies, is a town or city record, not a state credential. Gas connections are the part of a heating and cooling repair that has to be right, since a bad one is dangerous, and whether anyone local checks that work depends on the same town-by-town rule. Illinois leaves that decision to the municipality as well.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it's set to heat and the set point is above room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead furnace. If that's not it, check the breaker and the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch near the unit. A furnace that won't start at all often comes down to the igniter or a flame sensor that needs cleaning, and either one is a job for a contractor. With winter nights here dropping to 17°F on average, it's worth getting this looked at the same day rather than waiting.
- 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 the coil can ice over, which stops cold air from moving through the ducts even though the system is running. Check the outdoor unit too. If the fan isn't spinning or the area around it is packed with leaves or grass clippings, the outdoor coil can't release heat and the system won't cool no matter how long it runs. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear, the problem is likely refrigerant or the compressor, and that calls for a contractor.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and batteries first, since a dead battery or a setting left on the wrong mode causes more no-heat and no-cool calls than people expect. Check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker and look for a furnace switch that may have been bumped off. Check the filter and swap it if it's dirty and gray with dust. If the system still isn't working after that, tell the contractor what you checked. It saves time on the visit and helps them get to the actual problem faster.