HVAC Questions and Answers

JLO charges a flat $89 diagnostic. It covers travel and a full diagnosis, and it is applied to the cost of the repair when you approve the work. There is no trip charge, no mileage fee inside our 50-mile radius, and no after-hours surcharge on the diagnostic itself.

Yes. Estimates on new equipment are free and itemised in writing. The $89 diagnostic applies only to finding a fault on equipment you already own.

The diagnostic stays at $89 at any hour. Labour on an after-hours repair is billed at our after-hours rate, which we quote on the phone before dispatching.

Four things, in order: the furnace switch on the wall or ceiling joist, the circuit breaker, the thermostat batteries, and the air filter. A restricted filter and a tripped switch are between them the cause of a surprising share of no-heat calls. If all four are fine, call us.

Usually the burner is not staying lit while the blower keeps running. Common causes are a dirty flame sensor, a failed ignitor, a blocked flue or condensate drain, or a pressure switch fault. It can also be as simple as the thermostat fan being set to ON instead of AUTO.

Most often a badly restricted filter, a frozen evaporator coil, low refrigerant from a leak, or a failed run capacitor. Change the filter first, because that costs nothing. If there is ice on the refrigerant line, switch the system off and let it thaw completely before running it again.

In Minnesota, yes. A house can drop below freezing in well under a day at the temperatures we get, and frozen pipes cost far more than any furnace repair. Call us at any hour.

Fifteen to twenty years is typical, and well-maintained units regularly go longer. Our climate means more annual run hours than most of the country, so maintenance genuinely moves the number.

A workable rule: if the repair costs more than a third of a replacement and the unit is past fifteen years old, replacement usually wins on total cost. Under that, repair is normally better value. A cracked heat exchanger is a hard stop regardless of age.

The honest answer is that it varies too widely to publish a single figure, because sizing, efficiency, venting changes and ductwork all move it substantially. Our estimates are free and itemised so you can see exactly what is driving the number for your house.

Cold-climate models do, well below zero. For most homes here the right configuration is dual fuel: the heat pump handles the bulk of the heating season efficiently and the existing furnace covers the coldest stretches, so you are never left waiting for heat.

Usually yes, and by more than most homeowners expect. Propane is the most expensive common heating fuel in this area, and a heat pump can shift the majority of your annual heating hours off it entirely.

Propane vaporises less readily at low temperatures, so a tank low on liquid may not keep up with demand in deep cold. That causes low pressure at the burner and repeated ignition lockouts. Keeping the tank above roughly 30 percent through winter prevents most of it.

A one-inch filter needs replacing every one to three months, sooner with pets or in a dusty house. A four- or five-inch media filter typically lasts six to twelve months. Filter restriction is the single most common cause of the no-heat and no-cool calls we attend.

Heating once a year before the season, cooling once a year in spring. A heat pump runs year-round and should be serviced twice, because it accumulates roughly double the run hours.

Roughly 30 to 40 percent in mild winter weather, dropping toward 25 percent in deep cold. If the inside of your windows is frosting over, the humidity is too high for that outdoor temperature.

Almost always airflow rather than the furnace: an undersized or crushed duct run, insufficient return air, or a system that has never been balanced. Replacing the furnace will not fix any of those, which is why we measure static pressure before recommending anything.

53 towns within about 50 miles of Pine City, spanning Pine, Kanabec, Chisago, Isanti, Mille Lacs, Sherburne, Washington and Carlton counties in Minnesota plus Burnett and Polk counties in Wisconsin.

Yes, for work in both Minnesota and Wisconsin, and we pull permits on installation work rather than skipping them. An unpermitted furnace can complicate a home sale and can void the manufacturer's warranty.

No. The technician who diagnoses your system is the one who quotes the work. We do not employ commissioned closers, which is a large part of why our quoting process feels different.