Cooling Services

No cooling? What we check first

When an air conditioner runs but the house will not cool, the usual suspects are a dirty filter or coil restricting airflow, a failed capacitor, a contactor that is not pulling in, low refrigerant from a leak, a frozen evaporator coil, or a condensate safety switch that has shut the system down because the drain is clogged.

If the outdoor unit is silent, check the breaker and the disconnect by the condenser. If the indoor blower runs but the air is not cold, turn the system off and let a frozen coil thaw before we arrive — it makes the diagnosis faster and prevents further damage to the compressor.

AC repair versus replacement

Age, refrigerant type and the cost of the repair drive this decision. Older systems using discontinued refrigerant become expensive to recharge, and a major component failure on an aging condenser is often money spent on equipment that will need replacing soon anyway.

We price the repair and the replacement side by side and explain what each buys you in comfort, reliability and operating cost. There is no pressure and no invented urgency; plenty of the systems we look at have several good seasons left and should simply be repaired.

Sizing, ductwork and even cooling

An air conditioner that is too large for the space cools quickly, shuts off before it has removed humidity, and leaves the house clammy and uneven. Undersized returns, disconnected duct joints in attics and crawl spaces, and closed-off registers cause the same complaints for different reasons.

Before quoting equipment we look at airflow and duct condition, because a bigger unit almost never fixes a distribution problem. Sealing, balancing and correcting return air often solves the hot upstairs bedroom that three previous service calls did not.

Ductless mini-splits for homes without ductwork

Many older Chicagoland homes were never built with ducts. Ductless mini-split systems cool individual rooms or zones without a duct system, run quietly, and give you independent control room by room. High-velocity small-duct systems are another option where running conventional ductwork would mean tearing into plaster.

Both approaches have trade-offs in cost, appearance and capacity. We walk the building, explain what is realistic for your layout, and let you decide before anything is ordered.

AC maintenance and efficiency

Spring maintenance keeps a cooling system from failing in the first stretch of hot weather. We clean the condenser coil, check refrigerant charge and temperature split, test the capacitor and contactor, clear and treat the condensate drain, inspect the blower and verify the thermostat is calling correctly.

A clean coil and correct charge mean the compressor runs less to reach the same temperature, which shows up directly on the electric bill. For a broader look at cooling, heating and hot water together, ask about our energy savings consulting.

Commercial cooling

We repair, replace and maintain rooftop packaged units, split systems and the ventilation that supports them for offices, retail spaces, restaurants and light industrial buildings. Maintenance agreements put coil cleaning, belt and bearing checks, refrigerant verification and filter changes on a calendar instead of leaving them to chance.