HVAC Repair in Kalamazoo, 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 Kalamazoo County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work for one furnace
Your furnace runs from October through May here, and your air conditioner takes over June through August. That leaves almost no month where the system just sits idle. Winter nights averaging 19°F mean the burner is cycling on and off for hours at a stretch, and every start is a strain on the igniter. When it finally gives out, the furnace won't light at all and the house goes cold.
Summer afternoons near 81°F push the air conditioner hard on the other end, and the compressor takes that load for three straight months. Kalamazoo County has seen 15 winter storms and 34 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and storms like that knock out power. More than a third of Michigan households went at least 24 hours without power in 2024. A furnace or AC that was already working hard doesn't always come back clean after that kind of outage.
- 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 $150 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Kalamazoo County home.
Estimates for a typical Kalamazoo 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 Board of Mechanical Rules is the state body that tests HVAC contractors and keeps the record of who holds this license. The license belongs to the contractor, not to each job, so a repair like this one draws on a license already earned rather than one issued for the occasion.
For this repair, that license is what stands behind the person working on your system. It means the state has tested them and has them on record, which is more than a business filing or a county rule would tell you.
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 system. Check your breaker panel next, since a tripped breaker will shut the furnace down with no warning at all. If the thermostat and breaker are fine, listen for the furnace trying to start. A few clicks followed by silence usually points to a failed igniter or a flame sensor that needs cleaning, and either one is a job for a licensed contractor. With winter nights here averaging 19°F, a furnace that will not hold heat needs attention the same day.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the filter first. A filter clogged with dust blocks airflow across the coil, and the coil can ice over so the air coming out feels weak or barely cool at all. Look at the outdoor unit too. If the coil outside is caked with grass clippings or covered by plant growth, it cannot release the heat pulled from inside the house, and the system runs constantly without bringing the temperature down. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear, the problem is likely low refrigerant or a failing component, and that calls for a licensed contractor to diagnose.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it if it uses them, and the breaker for the system before anything else. These take a minute and rule out the simplest causes. Next, check the filter. A dirty filter is one of the most common reasons a furnace or air conditioner struggles, and swapping it out is something most homeowners can do themselves. If the system runs but the air is not warm or cool enough, or it will not start at all after these checks, the cause is inside the equipment and needs a licensed contractor to open it up and diagnose it.