HVAC Repair in Detroit, MI
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 Wayne County will get in touch.
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Eleven months of work a year on your system
Your furnace and your air conditioner only get a few weeks off in Wayne County. Heat runs October through May, then cooling takes over for June through August. That is eleven months where one system or the other has to work every day.
Winter nights averaging 21°F mean the burner cycles on and off for hours at a time, and each start puts strain on the igniter. Summer afternoons near 82°F push the compressor hard for three straight months with almost no rest between cycles. Most furnaces here run on gas, so when the igniter or the flame sensor gives out, the house goes cold fast. And with over a third of Michigan households losing power for at least a day last year, a furnace or air conditioner that does not come back on by itself after an outage is a problem worth knowing about before it happens.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 21°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 82°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 Wayne County home.
Estimates for a typical Wayne County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Michigan 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.
Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license.
The state tests contractors before they get this license and keeps a record of who holds one, through the Board of Mechanical Rules. The license belongs to the contractor, not to any one job, so the same license covers the next repair too.
For a heating and cooling repair, that license is what stands behind the work. A bad connection or a wiring mistake is the dangerous part of this job, and the license is the state's word that the contractor was tested on doing it right.
Sources: Michigan Legislature · Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the temperature is set above room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead furnace. Next check the breaker for the furnace and the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit, often mounted on the side or on a nearby wall. If those are fine and you have a gas furnace, check that the gas valve is open. Most gas furnaces will not run at all if the igniter has failed or the flame sensor is dirty, and that takes a contractor to fix. With 83.6% of homes here heating with gas and winter nights averaging 21°F, a furnace that will not start is not something to leave for later.
- 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 when that happens the coil can ice over and blow warm air even though the system is running. Turn the system off, pull the filter, and hold it up to a light. If you can not see light through it, replace it. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit fan is not spinning, or the air coming from the vents is barely moving, that points to the compressor or the fan motor, and a contractor will need to look at it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in the thermostat if it has them, and the breaker for the system. A tripped breaker or dead batteries can look exactly like a broken furnace or air conditioner. Check the air filter and replace it if it is dark or clogged, since restricted airflow causes problems on both the heating and cooling side. For a gas furnace, check that the gas valve is open and that the switch near the unit is on. If everything checks out and the system still is not working, a licensed contractor can diagnose it from there. Michigan requires HVAC contractors to hold a state license through the Board of Mechanical Rules, so ask for that license number when you call.