HVAC Repair in Waukesha, WI
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 Waukesha County will get in touch.
Tell us about the job
It takes about a minute.
Eleven months of work, most of it in the cold
Your furnace is the machine doing the work here. Waukesha County needs heat from October through May, and on winter nights that average 16°F it runs long and cycles on again as soon as the house drops a couple degrees. That kind of use wears on the igniter and the flame sensor, the parts tested every time the burner lights. When one of them finally fails, the burner won't light and the house goes cold fast at 16°F.
Summer is shorter, three months of afternoons near 80°F, but the air conditioner still has to hold the house against that heat day after day. The county also sees real weather, 18 winter storms and 103 damaging wind events over the past ten years, and in 2024, 18 percent of Wisconsin households lost power for at least 24 hours. When the power goes out in a storm, the furnace stops with it, no matter what shape it's in.
- 8 months
- October through May, your system heats
- 3 months
- June through August, it cools
- 16°F
- the average winter night it heats against
- 80°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 Waukesha County home.
Estimates for a typical Waukesha 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 the business on file with the state. It does not mean anyone tested the contractor's work or checked their trade knowledge. There is no state exam behind it and no license number tied to it. Wisconsin also keeps this the same everywhere. Counties and cities cannot add their own HVAC license on top of it, so the rule in Waukesha County is the same rule as anywhere else in the state.
For a repair to a heating and cooling system, that registration is not what stands behind the work. If the repair touches a gas line or connection, that is the part of the job where a bad connection turns dangerous. Wisconsin's registration record does not include an inspection of that work.
Sources: Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau · Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services
- Why is my heat not working?
- Start with the thermostat. Check that it is set to heat and the temperature is set above the room temperature, since a setting bumped by accident is a common cause. If that is not it, check the breaker for the furnace and, on a gas furnace, make sure the switch that looks like a light switch near the unit has not been flipped off. When it is 16 degrees outside overnight, a furnace that will not stay lit needs a contractor soon rather than later.
- 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 when that happens the coil can ice over so the system runs but pushes out warm air. Check the outdoor unit too, since leaves or grass clippings packed against it stop it from releasing heat. If the filter is clean and the outdoor unit is clear, the system likely needs a contractor to look at what is inside it.
- What can I check before calling for HVAC repair?
- Check the thermostat settings and its batteries if it has any, since a dead thermostat display looks like a dead system. Check the breaker panel for a tripped breaker. Check the filter and replace it if you cannot see light through it. On a furnace, look for a small window showing a flame or a light that blinks a pattern, since that pattern tells a contractor what the furnace is doing before they even arrive.