HVAC Maintenance Plans on the North Shore
The point of a maintenance plan is not the tune-up. It is that somebody who knows heating equipment looks at your system twice a year and tells you, in writing, what is wearing out - so the furnace dies on a Tuesday in October when you have options, instead of at 2am in January when you do not. A seasonal visit covers combustion and heat exchanger inspection on the heating side, refrigerant charge and coil condition on the cooling side, and on both: electrical connections, condensate drainage, airflow, safety controls, and thermostat calibration. Plan members also get priority dispatch when something does go wrong and a discount on any repair. And most manufacturer warranties require documented annual maintenance - a plan is how you keep that coverage intact rather than discovering it lapsed when you need it.
Depending on plan tier and how many systems the home runs. A one-off seasonal tune-up without a plan runs $129-$199. Plan pricing is confirmed in writing before enrollment.
Who a plan is right for
- You want the system checked before heating or cooling season
- The manufacturer warranty requires documented annual service
- The system is aging and you want warning, not a surprise failure
- You would rather not wait in line during the first cold snap
- You just bought the house and do not know the system's history
- You want a written condition report before deciding on replacement
Our process
- 1Pick a plan or a one-off tune-up
Book a single tune-up for your your home home, or put the system on a plan so the visits get scheduled for you.
- 2Seasonal visit
Heating is checked in the fall and cooling in the spring - combustion and heat exchanger, refrigerant charge, electrical connections, drainage, airflow, and thermostat calibration.
- 3A written condition report
You get a plain report of what was checked, what is wearing, and roughly how much life the system has left - so a failure is a planned expense instead of an emergency.
- 4Priority when something does go wrong
Plan members go to the front of the dispatch queue and pay a discounted rate on any repair, including in the middle of a January cold snap.
Why choose us for this work
- · Two seasonal visits a year, scheduled for you - heating in fall, cooling in spring.
- · A written condition report, not a checkmark on a clipboard.
- · Priority dispatch and discounted repair rates for plan members.
- · Keeps documented-maintenance warranty requirements intact.
- · Honest remaining-life estimates so replacement is planned, not panicked.
What maintenance tells you about replacement
A plan visit is also the cheapest way to see a replacement coming. Every seasonal report includes an honest read on remaining life, so when a system is genuinely near the end you get months of warning to plan the spend, compare options, and catch the rebate season - instead of choosing a furnace in a panic on the coldest night of the year.
See replacement cost rangesPlans
Seasonal Tune-Up
A single visit before heating or cooling season. No plan, no auto-renewal - book it when you want it.
- Full inspection of one system
- Safety and combustion checks
- Written condition report
- Credited toward a plan if you enroll after
Comfort Plan
The standard agreement for a home with one heating and cooling system. Two visits a year, scheduled for you.
- Fall heating visit + spring cooling visit
- Written condition and remaining-life report
- Priority dispatch ahead of non-members
- 10% off any repair
- Keeps documented-maintenance warranty terms intact
Whole-Home Plan
For larger or zoned homes running more than one furnace, condenser, or a boiler alongside forced air.
- Everything in the Comfort Plan, across every system
- Zone-by-zone performance check
- 15% off any repair
- No overtime charge on emergency calls
- Replacement planning across the whole system, not one unit at a time
Ranges reflect plan tier and how many systems the home runs. Your price is confirmed in writing before you enroll - we do not auto-enroll anyone or bill a plan without a signed agreement.
Towns we serve
Frequently asked questions
How much does a new furnace or AC cost on the North Shore?
Installed furnace replacements typically run $4,500-$9,000, central AC $5,000-$10,000, and a full furnace-plus-AC system $9,000-$18,000. Boilers (common in older North Shore homes) run $7,000-$15,000, and heat pumps $10,000-$22,000 before rebates. Final pricing depends on system size, efficiency, and how your home is configured. Every quote is written and itemized after an in-home estimate.
Should I repair or replace my system?
As a rule of thumb, if a system is 15+ years old, needs a repair that costs more than about a third of a new unit, or has failed more than once in a season, replacement usually saves money over time. We give an honest recommendation - if a repair makes more sense, we'll say so, and we'll do the repair.
Do you do repairs, or only replacements?
Both. We repair furnaces, air conditioners, and boilers, with a $99-$169 diagnostic that is credited toward the repair and a flat repair price you approve in writing before any work starts. Most repairs run $180-$950 depending on the equipment and the fault. Replacement is what we specialize in, but that does not mean we push it - a good system with a failed part gets the part.
Do you offer a maintenance plan or service agreement?
Yes. Plans run $199-$399 per year depending on tier and how many systems the home has, and cover two seasonal visits - heating in the fall, cooling in the spring - plus priority dispatch and a discounted repair rate for members. A one-off tune-up without a plan is $129-$199. Most manufacturer warranties require documented annual maintenance, so a plan also keeps that coverage intact.
Do you help with ComEd, Nicor, and federal rebates?
Yes. High-efficiency furnaces, AC, heat pumps, and boilers often qualify for Nicor Gas and ComEd rebates - heat pumps can earn tiered ComEd rebates of roughly $1,400-$2,000 depending on equipment. We size and select equipment to hit rebate thresholds and hand off the documentation you need to claim them.
My furnace died in the middle of winter - can you help fast?
Yes. We run a 24/7 emergency line for no-heat and no-cool situations. When a system can't be safely or economically revived, we can often provide temporary heat and get a replacement installed quickly.
HVAC Maintenance Plans - Service Areas
Evanston is the North Shore's largest city, a dense mix of historic homes, two-flats, and university-area prop...
Winnetka is a lakefront village of large, older homes where heating and cooling systems are often decades past...
Wilmette is an established North Shore suburb where a large share of homes are well past the point of easy rep...
Kenilworth is a small, historic lakefront village of architecturally significant homes. Nearly every project i...
Glencoe is an affluent lakefront village of substantial older homes. Boiler replacements, cooling retrofits, a...
Highland Park is a large Lake County lakefront city with a wide mix of housing ages. From boiler replacements ...
Lake Forest is an estate community of large, older homes where heating and cooling systems are often multi-zon...
Lake Bluff is a small lakefront village of older, well-kept homes. Boiler replacements and full-system furnace...
Northbrook is a large, family-oriented suburb of postwar and later homes. Furnace-and-AC full-system replaceme...
Glenview is a large suburb with a wide range of home ages, from postwar neighborhoods to newer construction at...
Northfield is a quiet, established village between Winnetka and Northbrook. Boiler replacements and full-syste...
Deerfield is a family-centered Lake County suburb of mid-century and newer homes. Matched furnace-and-AC repla...
Bannockburn is a small, leafy Lake County village of large properties. Multi-zone furnace-and-AC replacements ...
Skokie is a large, established near-north suburb of postwar homes. Full-system furnace-and-AC replacements and...
Park Ridge is a classic near-north suburb of older brick homes and bungalows. Boiler replacements, cooling ret...
Morton Grove is a settled near-north suburb of mid-century homes. Full-system furnace-and-AC replacements and ...
Niles is an established Cook County suburb of mid-century homes. Full-system furnace-and-AC replacements and h...
Lincolnwood is a compact suburb bordering Chicago with a mix of home sizes. Full-system replacements and boile...
Golf is a tiny, historic village of large homes surrounded by Morton Grove and Glenview. Nearly every project ...
Lincolnshire is an upscale Lake County suburb of newer, larger homes. Full-system furnace-and-AC replacements ...
Long Grove is a semi-rural Lake County village of large estate homes. Multi-zone furnace-and-AC replacements a...
Mettawa is a rural Lake County village of large estates. Multi-zone replacements and boiler modernization in s...
Buffalo Grove is a big family suburb straddling Cook and Lake counties, built largely from the 1970s on. Match...
Vernon Hills is a newer Lake County suburb of planned neighborhoods. Full-system furnace-and-AC replacements a...
Highwood is a compact, older North Shore city of small-lot homes, many still on boilers and radiators. Boiler ...
Knollwood is a small unincorporated Lake County community of postwar ranch homes. Furnace-and-AC changeouts, p...
Green Oaks is a wooded Lake County village of large homes on acreage, most running zoned multi-system heating ...
Libertyville pairs a pre-war downtown core still on boilers with 1990s-and-later subdivisions now reaching the...