HVAC Questions Answered for Elgin & Fox Valley Homeowners

Age, repair cost and reliability decide it. Furnaces often run 15 to 20 years and central air conditioners 12 to 15, so a system near the end of that range with a costly repair is usually better replaced. A newer system with a single failed part is almost always worth repairing. We give you both numbers and tell you which one we would spend our own money on. See furnace replacement, AC replacement and our guide to R-410A and older air conditioners.

The right size comes from a room-by-room load calculation, not from square footage or from copying the old unit. Insulation, windows, ductwork, and how the house sits all change the answer. An oversized system short cycles, wears out sooner, runs louder and leaves the house clammy in summer, so bigger is not better. We size every system to the home before we quote it. Request a free quote.

A heat pump heats and cools with one electric system, a furnace plus AC uses gas for heat and electricity for cooling, and a dual-fuel system pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace that takes over in the coldest weather. Modern cold-climate heat pumps work in northern Illinois, and dual fuel is a common choice when you want low running costs with gas as a backup. Read do heat pumps work in northern Illinois winters and dual-fuel systems.

It means the outdoor unit, indoor coil and furnace or air handler are designed to work together and have been tested as that exact combination. The efficiency number on the label only applies to the matched set, so mixing a new outdoor unit with an old coil can leave you with less efficiency and less capacity than you paid for. We install matched systems so the ratings on paper are the ratings you get. More on Amana equipment.

We install Amana furnaces, air conditioners and heat pumps and Daikin ductless mini-splits, along with AprilAire indoor air quality products and boilers, and we repair most major brands. We are an Amana Advantage Specialist and put our name behind the equipment we install. Browse all brands.

Call (847) 224-2420 or request a quote online. We look at the home, size the system, and give you a written price with the equipment, the installation and any utility discounts included, with no pressure to decide that day. If you want to spread the cost, see financing options.

When the thermostat calls for heat, the control board starts the draft fan, opens the gas valve and lights the burners. The flame heats a metal heat exchanger, and the blower pushes your household air across the outside of it and out through the ducts. The combustion gases stay inside the heat exchanger and leave through the vent. A standard 80% furnace vents through a metal flue, while a high-efficiency condensing furnace has a second heat exchanger that pulls extra heat from the exhaust and vents through plastic pipe. Modulating models also adjust the flame to hold the temperature steady. See furnace repair and our carbon monoxide checklist.

An air conditioner does not make cold, it moves heat. Refrigerant picks up heat from your indoor air at the indoor coil, carries it through sealed lines to the outdoor unit, and the compressor and condenser coil release it outside. The blower sends the cooled air through the ducts, and as the air passes the cold coil, moisture condenses and drains away, which is why a working AC also dries the air. The indoor coil usually sits on top of the furnace or air handler. If yours is not cooling, start with these seven checks or call for AC repair.

A heat pump uses the same refrigeration cycle as an air conditioner, with a reversing valve that flips the direction. In summer it moves heat out of the house. In winter it pulls heat from the outdoor air, even when it feels cold, and moves it indoors. Modern cold-climate models keep heating at low temperatures, and many homes add a backup heat source for the coldest days. Read do heat pumps work in northern Illinois winters.

Auxiliary heat is the automatic backup. On a heat pump system, electric heat strips (or the gas furnace in a dual-fuel system) switch on when the heat pump cannot keep up on a very cold day, during a defrost cycle, or when you raise the temperature a lot at once. Emergency heat is a setting you choose that shuts the heat pump off and runs only the backup, which costs more to operate. Use it only if the outdoor unit has stopped working, and then call us for heat pump repair.

An air handler is the indoor unit that holds the blower, the evaporator coil and, in some systems, electric heat strips. It moves air through the ducts, and it is the indoor half of a heat pump or air conditioner in homes that do not have a gas furnace. In a home with a furnace, the furnace blower does that job. We service and replace them through our air handler repair and air handler replacement pages.

A furnace heats air and distributes it through ducts. A boiler heats water or makes steam and sends it to radiators or in-floor tubing. A heat pump moves heat electrically and can both heat and cool. Which one you have decides what we service: see furnace repair, boiler repair and heat pump repair.

AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) is the share of the fuel a furnace or boiler burns that turns into usable heat for your home. A 96% AFUE furnace turns about 96 cents of every fuel dollar into heat, and the remainder leaves through the vent. Higher is more efficient, and high-efficiency condensing models are also what the gas utility discounts are based on.

SEER2 rates how efficiently an air conditioner or heat pump cools over a whole season, and HSPF2 rates how efficiently a heat pump heats. Higher numbers use less electricity. Both use a newer test method that measures equipment under more realistic airflow conditions than the older SEER and HSPF labels, so do not compare a SEER2 number directly with an old SEER number.

A single-stage system is either fully on or off. A two-stage system runs on a lower setting most of the time and uses full power only on the hottest or coldest days. A variable-speed (also called inverter-driven) system adjusts continuously to match what the house needs, and a modulating furnace does the same with its gas flame. The more steps a system has, the quieter it tends to run and the more even and humidity-friendly the temperature, and the more the equipment costs.

Usually yes, because it uses less energy and many utility discounts require it. The extra cost up front is often offset by lower bills and by incentives such as the ComEd and Nicor Gas instant discounts. We tell you what a specific system qualifies for when we quote it.

A BTU is a unit of heat. Furnace and boiler output is listed in BTUs per hour, and cooling capacity is often given in tons, where one ton equals 12,000 BTUs per hour. These numbers describe capacity, not efficiency, so a bigger number does not mean a better system. The right capacity comes from the home’s heating and cooling load, and an oversized system wastes energy and comfort.

Zoning splits the home into areas with their own thermostat so each can be heated or cooled separately. It helps when one floor or room is always too hot or cold, but it needs ductwork that can handle it and is not a fix for a poorly sized system. For additions and rooms without good ducts, a ductless mini-split is often the simpler answer.

Yes, but it is getting costly. R-22 was the standard refrigerant in most air conditioners built before about 2010. It was phased out because it harms the ozone layer, and U.S. production and imports ended on January 1, 2020. What is left is recovered and reclaimed refrigerant plus old stock, so the price keeps climbing. You are not required to replace a working R-22 system, but a leak is the point to compare repair against replacement. Pouring in a cheaper product marketed as an R-22 substitute is not a fix, since some are flammable blends that EPA does not approve for home air conditioners. Ask for a written repair quote and a replacement quote side by side, and see our guide to AC replacement.

No. R-454B is a blend of R-32 and a second compound, and it has a global warming potential of about 466, roughly 78 percent lower than R-410A. Several brands use it in new air conditioners and heat pumps, while the Amana S-Series systems we install use R-32. Both are mildly flammable (A2L), but they are different refrigerants. They are not interchangeable, and neither can be put into an R-410A system. If your home has a system on either one, it is serviced with that exact refrigerant.

Refrigerants get a two-part safety rating from ASHRAE. The letter is toxicity, and A is the lower-toxicity group. The number is flammability: 1 means the refrigerant does not spread a flame in testing, and 2L means it is mildly flammable, hard to ignite and slow to burn. R-22 and R-410A are A1. R-32 and R-454B are A2L, which is why equipment that uses them has design features and installation steps the older A1 systems did not need. None of the classes changes how you use your home or thermostat.

R-32 is the refrigerant used in many new air conditioners and heat pumps, including the Amana S-Series systems we install. It carries heat very efficiently, it is a single compound rather than a blend, and it has roughly two-thirds less global warming potential than R-410A, which is why manufacturers are moving to it. See our Amana S-Series heat pumps.

R-32 is classed as mildly flammable (A2L), which means it is hard to ignite and burns slowly, unlike the A1 rating of R-410A and R-22. That is a different category from the highly flammable gases most people have in mind. Equipment that uses it is built and installed to current safety standards, and technicians follow specific procedures when working on it. Used and serviced properly, it is a safe refrigerant for homes, and you do not need to do anything differently day to day.

No. R-32 and R-410A are different refrigerants and must never be mixed or used to top off one another. If an R-410A system is low, the leak has to be found and repaired, and it is recharged with the refrigerant the system was built for. Technicians need EPA Section 608 certification to handle any refrigerant.

It depends. The indoor coil and the outdoor unit have to be an approved match, and the manufacturer lists which combinations are allowed. We check the approved combinations before we quote, and if your existing coil is not on the list, the coil is replaced with the unit. Mismatched equipment can lose efficiency and capacity, so this is the part of a quote to ask about. More in R-410A phase-down: what it means for your AC.

Federal rules are phasing down refrigerants with a high global warming impact, and new residential systems are shifting to lower-impact refrigerants such as R-32 and R-454B. This follows the earlier retirement of R-22. Existing R-410A systems can keep running and being serviced, but the refrigerant is expected to get more expensive over time, which matters if an older system has a leak.

Yes. Leaves, grass clippings, cottonwood fluff and snow can choke the coil and make the unit run hotter and work harder, so keep about two feet of clearance around it. In winter, a heat pump normally runs short defrost cycles and may steam, which is not a problem. A coil encased in ice that does not clear, or ice on an air conditioner’s copper line in summer, means something is wrong, so shut the system off and call for AC repair or heat pump repair.

Usually no. A full cover traps moisture and gives mice a warm place to nest. Never cover a heat pump, since it runs all winter. If you want protection from falling debris, a rigid cover over the top only is enough, and clearing leaves and snow off the unit does the same job.

Change the filter on schedule, keep supply and return vents clear of furniture and rugs, keep the outdoor unit clean, and have each system tuned up once a year before its season. A programmable or smart thermostat helps, and so does fixing leaky ducts. Our maintenance plan covers the tune-ups.

A basic thermostat holds one temperature until you change it. A programmable one follows a schedule you set. A smart thermostat learns or follows your schedule, adjusts when you leave, and can be controlled from your phone. Smart thermostats can also earn a rebate when installed with qualifying equipment, and heat pumps and dual-fuel systems need compatible ones. See smart thermostat installation. Already own an Amana smart thermostat? Our Amana smart thermostat help center covers Wi-Fi, schedules, Away mode and more.

A common baseline is about 68°F in winter and 78°F in summer while you are home, with a setback when you are asleep or away. Large swings and constant adjusting waste energy, so pick a schedule and let it run. A smart thermostat can handle that automatically.

Most no-heat and no-cool calls start as small problems, like a dirty flame sensor, a clogged coil or a weak capacitor, that a tune-up catches while they are cheap. A clean, tested system also runs more efficiently and lasts longer. See our furnace maintenance and AC maintenance pages.

Once a year for each system: the air conditioner or heat pump in spring and the furnace or boiler in fall. If you want it handled automatically, our Semi-Annual Maintenance Plan is $240 a year and includes both tune-ups, one free service call with priority scheduling, and 5% off repairs, parts and filters. It does not auto-renew. See what is included.

For most homes a pleated filter in the MERV 8 to 11 range balances air cleaning and airflow. Very high MERV filters can restrict airflow on systems that were not designed for them, so check before upgrading. Thin one-inch filters usually need changing every one to three months, and thicker media filters every six to twelve, sooner with pets, construction dust or heavy use. Our step-by-step guide shows how to change your air filter.

Not routinely. Cleaning makes sense after a renovation, a pest problem, visible mold or heavy debris at the registers. Leaky or poorly sized ducts usually cost more comfort and energy than dusty ones. Here is when duct cleaning helps, and our duct cleaning service.

Before the first real cold snap, which in the Fox Valley usually means September or October. Waiting until the first freeze means a longer wait for an appointment. Read when to schedule a fall furnace tune-up.

For 2026 installs, ComEd offers instant discounts on qualifying heat pumps and ductless mini-splits (up to $2,075 for a ducted heat pump with a smart thermostat), and Nicor Gas offers discounts on qualifying furnaces, boilers and smart thermostats (up to $275 for a furnace and smart thermostat). We apply them right on your invoice and handle the paperwork. Details and tiers are on our ComEd and Nicor Gas pages, and we confirm exactly what your equipment qualifies for in the quote.

Yes. We work with OPTIMUS for financing, and prequalifying uses a soft credit check that does not affect your score. All financing is subject to credit approval. Illinois utility on-bill loans are another option for qualifying upgrades, and the program changes from time to time. See financing options and on-bill financing for current terms.

Often, yes, because the lowest price rarely stays the lowest cost. A higher-efficiency system can use less energy for the next 15 years or more, may qualify for utility discounts, and is usually quieter and more comfortable. Financing lets you pay for that over time instead of draining savings or using a credit card. Your financing provider shows you the rate, payment and total cost before you accept anything, and you can start at our financing page.

For Amana systems installed on or after October 1, 2026, registering online within 60 days unlocks a 10-year parts limited warranty, a 20-year heat exchanger limited warranty on gas furnaces, and a 10-year unit replacement limited warranty on select models, which also requires annual maintenance. Without registration, parts are covered for 5 years and a furnace heat exchanger for 10. Manufacturer warranties do not cover labor, but an Asure extended service plan can add it. Systems installed earlier keep the terms that applied when they were installed. Coverage varies by model, so check the Amana warranty, registration and Asure plan pages.

Yes. Emergency calls are answered day and night. If your heat or air conditioning fails, call (847) 224-2420. See emergency furnace repair, emergency AC repair and emergency boiler repair.

We diagnose the problem and give you a flat-rate price that you approve before any work begins. If a repair is not the best use of your money, we say so and explain the alternative.

We are licensed, insured and bonded, our technicians are NATE-certified, and our owner holds EPA Section 608 Universal certification for refrigerant work. Learn more about our team.

Elgin and the surrounding Fox Valley in Kane, McHenry, DuPage and DeKalb counties, including South Elgin, St. Charles, Aurora, Bartlett, Streamwood, Huntley, Carpentersville and Geneva. See the full list of service areas.