HVAC Repair in Duluth, MN
If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers St. Louis County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Ten months of heat, nights near zero
Your furnace runs from September through June here, ten months of the year. On winter nights that average 1°F, it cycles on and off for hours at a stretch to hold the house steady. Each start puts wear on the igniter and the flame sensor, and when one of those fails on a night that cold, you feel it fast.
Summer asks almost nothing of the system by comparison, with afternoons averaging 76°F. But Duluth has seen 179 winter storms and 284 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and outages happen. Most furnaces come back on by themselves once power returns, but if yours does not, that is worth having looked at.
- 10 months
- September through June, your system heats
- 1°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 76°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $150 a year off heating and cooling for a typical St. Louis County home.
Estimates for a typical St. Louis County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Minnesota 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.
Minnesota has no state license for HVAC contractors.
Minnesota does not put HVAC contractors through any state process at all, not a license, not a registration. There is no state exam behind the name on the truck and no state record to check.
That means the license is not the thing standing behind this job, because there isn't one. If the repair involves gas lines or gas connections, that is the part where a mistake turns dangerous, and Minnesota has no state license or registration covering that work on a home heating and cooling repair.
Source: Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat, the temperature is set above room temperature, and the display is lit. If the display is blank, look at the furnace switch, which looks like a light switch on or near the unit, and check the breaker for the furnace. A furnace that starts and then shuts off within a minute or two is often a flame sensor or an igniter losing its signal, and that is a job for a contractor. With winter nights here averaging 1°F, a furnace that is not heating needs attention the same day, not in a week.
- Why is my system running but not cooling the house?
- Check the air filter first. A filter packed with dust chokes off airflow across the coil, and the system will run without bringing the temperature down. Look at the outdoor unit too. If the fan is not turning or the coil is coated in ice, turn the system off and let it thaw before running it again. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit looks normal, the refrigerant charge or the compressor needs a contractor to check it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it, and the filter before anything else. Those catch a lot of no heat and no cool calls on their own. Next, check the breaker panel and any switch near the indoor or outdoor unit, since a tripped breaker or a flipped switch will stop the system cold. Minnesota does not license HVAC contractors at the state level, so when you do call, ask about their experience and insurance directly rather than assuming a license backs them.