HVAC Repair in Manitowoc, WI
Homes here need heat from September through May and cooling from July through August. If your system quits, tell us what it's doing and a licensed contractor who covers Manitowoc County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Nine months of heat, two of cooling, and not much rest between
Your furnace is the machine that works hardest here. It runs from September through May, and on winter nights that average 15°F it cycles on and off for hours to keep the house warm. Every start puts wear on the igniter, and one that fails on a night that cold leaves a house getting colder fast.
Come July and August, the air conditioner takes over, working against afternoons that average 77°F. It's a short season, but a system that sat idle since spring can turn up a weak capacitor or a coil that needs attention before it can keep up with the heat. Wisconsin also sees its share of winter storms and damaging wind, and a furnace that loses power needs to come back on and light correctly when it returns.
- 9 months
- September through May, your system heats
- 2 months
- July through August, it cools
- 15°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 77°F
- the average summer afternoon it cools against
NOAA nClimDiv, 1991–2020 normals
A new furnace and air conditioner would cut about $120 a year off heating and cooling for a typical Manitowoc County home.
Estimates for a typical Manitowoc County home, compared with an older unit built to the previous federal minimum, from EIA household energy data, Wisconsin 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.
Wisconsin requires contractors to register with the state.
Registration puts a contractor's business on file with the Department of Safety and Professional Services. There is no trade exam behind it and no test of HVAC knowledge, just a record that the business exists and is registered to work in the state. In Wisconsin, no county or city can add its own HVAC license on top of that, so this registration is the whole of it wherever you are in Manitowoc County.
For a repair on your heating and cooling system, that registration is a business record, not a check on the work itself. Wisconsin has no state trade exam standing behind the person doing the repair, and no local license filling that gap either, since cities and counties are barred from adding their own. What you have on file is the business's name and address with the state, nothing about how the job on your system was done.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Make sure it is set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature, since a setting bumped a degree or two can look like a dead furnace. Check your breaker panel next, because a tripped breaker will stop a furnace cold even though the rest of the house has power. If the furnace runs on gas, check that the gas valve is open and that a standing pilot light is still lit. At 15°F on a winter night here, a furnace that will not start needs attention fast, so if the basics check out, the problem is likely something a contractor needs to open the unit to find, like an igniter or a flame sensor.
- 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 the air coming out of your vents will feel weak or barely cool even though the system is running. Next, look at the outdoor unit and clear away any leaves, grass clippings or debris pressed against it, since it needs open airflow to release heat. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear but the house still is not cooling, the system may be low on refrigerant or have a failing part, and that calls for a contractor with gauges to check it properly.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings, the batteries in it, and the breaker for the furnace or air conditioner. A tripped breaker or a thermostat set to the wrong mode causes more no-heat and no-cool calls than people expect. Look at the air filter and replace it if it is dark with dust, since a blocked filter can make a working system act like a broken one. If it is gas heat, check that the gas valve is open. After all that, if the system still is not doing its job, a contractor can diagnose what is left, and with storms knocking out power here 25 times over the past ten winters, it is also worth checking whether the unit simply lost power and needs to be turned back on.