HVAC Repair in Waukegan, 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 Lake County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work for your system
Your furnace runs from October through May in Waukegan, and on winter nights that average 19°F it doesn't get much rest. That's a lot of cycles on the igniter and the blower motor, and a lot of chances for a worn part to finally give out on the coldest night instead of a mild one. Then summer turns around and asks the other side of the system to keep up with afternoons averaging 81°F, often with barely a month off in between.
Most furnaces here run on gas, so a pilot or ignition problem means no heat, not reduced heat. And with wind and winter storms both common in this part of Illinois, a power blip can shut a system down even when nothing inside it is broken. If your heat or air stopped working after the lights flickered, that's often exactly what happened.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 19°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 81°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 Lake County home.
Estimates for a typical Lake 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 statewide HVAC license, so there is no state record to check on a contractor working in Lake County. What applies instead is whatever the city or town where the house sits has decided to require, and that varies from one place to the next.
For a repair to a heating and cooling system, that means the protection a homeowner has comes from local rules rather than a state credential. There is no state board reviewing the work, and no statewide test standing behind the person doing it. Whether this repair gets checked at all, including the gas connections, depends on the city or town where the house sits, not on any rule Illinois sets for the whole state.
Source: Illinois General Assembly
- Why is my heat not working?
- Most furnaces that won't fire have a pilot or ignition problem, a bad thermostat signal, or a clogged filter choking off airflow until the system shuts itself down. Check your thermostat first. Make sure it's set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature. If the furnace runs but blows cold air, or won't start at all, a dirty filter or a failed igniter is a common cause. With winter nights here averaging 19°F, a furnace that's down for more than a few hours is worth getting looked at quickly.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- If the blower is running but the air isn't cold, check the filter first. A clogged filter cuts off airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice over, which makes the problem worse the longer it runs. Turn the system off for an hour to let any ice melt, then replace the filter and try again. If it's still not cooling after that, the refrigerant charge or the outdoor unit needs a contractor to look at it, since low refrigerant isn't something you can check or add yourself.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Start with the thermostat. Confirm it's set to the right mode, the temperature is set correctly, and the batteries aren't dead if it uses them. Next, check the filter. A filter that's gray or packed with dust restricts airflow enough to cause heating and cooling problems on its own. Then check your breaker panel for a tripped breaker, since both furnaces and air conditioners run on electricity even when gas is the heat source. If the outdoor unit isn't running at all, make sure nothing is blocking it and that the disconnect switch nearby is pushed in. If everything checks out and the system still isn't working, a contractor will need to diagnose it further.