Heat Pump Services

Heat Pump Repair

If your heat pump isn’t heating or cooling properly, making unusual noises, or running longer than normal, it’s time for a professional inspection with our team.

We always carefully diagnose the underlying problem before recommending repairs, helping you avoid unnecessary work and giving you confidence in our recommendations. And because our technicians aren’t paid on commission, you can trust that our repair recommendations are based on what’s actually best for your home.

Heat Pump Maintenance

Since heat pumps operate nearly year-round, they greatly benefit from regular professional maintenance.

During your heat pump maintenance appointment, we’ll inspect major components, check refrigerant levels, clean critical parts, test electrical connections, evaluate airflow, and confirm the system is operating safely and efficiently.

Routine heat pump maintenance helps improve efficiency, reduce breakdowns, and identify small issues before they become expensive repairs.

Is a Heat Pump Right for Your Home?

Short answer: for a lot of homes in our area, yes. But the version that works here is probably not the version you’ve been reading about.

Cold weather is no longer the problem it was

The old objection to heat pumps in Illinois was that they quit working when it got genuinely cold. That was a fair criticism fifteen years ago. It isn’t anymore.

Carrier’s Infinity® 21 Cold Climate Heat Pump, one of the systems we install, provides heating operation down to -23°F. Villa Park’s coldest design conditions sit around -5°F. The equipment has real margin below the worst night of a normal Chicago-area winter.

It also carries an HSPF2 rating up to 12.5 and a variable-speed compressor that modulates anywhere from 30% to 100% capacity, so instead of slamming on and off it runs at low output for long stretches. That’s what produces steady temperatures instead of the hot-then-cold swings people associate with older systems. It runs at as low as 54 decibels, quieter than most conversations.

The real question in Illinois is operating cost, not capability

This is where we’ll be more direct than most contractors.

Northern Illinois has cheap natural gas and expensive electricity. At current rates, Nicor’s all-in gas cost runs roughly 66 cents per therm, while Illinois residential electricity averages about 17 cents per kWh.

Run the math on delivered heat:

• A 96% AFUE gas furnace costs roughly $7 per million BTU of heat delivered to your home.
• A heat pump running at a COP of 3.0, which is realistic in mild weather, costs roughly $17 per million BTU.

Gas is currently the cheaper fuel for heating in our market, and any contractor telling you a heat pump will cut your winter heating bill in half is not doing the arithmetic.

That does not make a heat pump the wrong choice. It makes dual fuel the right one.

Dual fuel: the configuration that actually fits this climate

A dual fuel system pairs a heat pump with a gas furnace. The heat pump handles heating whenever it’s efficient to do so, which in our climate covers the large majority of heating hours in fall, early winter, and spring. When temperatures drop far enough that gas becomes the cheaper fuel, the system automatically switches to the furnace.

You get the heat pump’s efficiency and its very effective cooling for most of the year, and the furnace’s low operating cost on the coldest nights. The changeover happens on its own based on a balance point we set during commissioning, using your actual utility rates rather than a factory default.

For most homes in Villa Park, Lombard, Elmhurst, Glen Ellyn and surrounding areas that already have gas service and existing ductwork, dual fuel is the configuration we recommend. It’s also the configuration that qualifies for the ComEd rebate.

Homes without gas service, additions and finished spaces where running ductwork isn’t practical, and homeowners specifically looking to get off gas are better candidates for an all-electric heat pump. We’ll tell you which category you’re in.

If you have solar, the math changes completely

Everything above assumes you’re buying electricity at 17 cents. If you have a properly sized solar array, you’re not.

A heat pump is the only HVAC system that runs entirely on electricity for both heating and cooling. Pair one with solar that covers your household load and the fuel cost of conditioning your home can drop to essentially nothing, year round, on the same equipment. No gas bill in January, no electric bill spike in July.

If you have panels already, or you’re planning them, a heat pump is almost certainly the right call and we should talk about sizing the system around your production.

How we decide

We evaluate your home’s layout, insulation, existing ductwork, gas service, and your actual utility rates before recommending anything. Our technicians aren’t paid on commission, so if a high-efficiency furnace and air conditioner is the better value for your house, that’s what we’ll tell you.

Call (630) 517-5371 to schedule your heat pump consultation.

Heat Pump Tax Credits and Rebates in Illinois: What’s available in 2026

Incentives changed significantly this year, and a lot of the information still circulating online is out of date. Here’s where things actually stand.

The federal tax credit has expired

The Section 25C Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit, which offered up to $2,000 back on a qualifying heat pump, ended on December 31, 2025. It was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025.

The deadline was based on when equipment was placed in service, not purchased. A system bought in late 2025 but not fully installed and operating until 2026 does not qualify.

If you’ve been holding off on a heat pump while you researched the federal credit, that window has closed. We’d rather tell you that directly than let you find out at tax time.

ComEd rebates are still available

ComEd currently offers rebates of up to $2,000 on qualifying heat pump installations. Eligibility depends on the specific equipment installed and current program requirements, and rebates are processed through a participating contractor.

K&J handles the rebate paperwork as part of your installation. We’ll confirm which tier your equipment qualifies for before you commit to anything, so the number you’re quoted is the number you receive.

Rebate amounts and program terms current as of August 2026 and subject to change by ComEd.

Illinois HEEHRA has not launched yet

You may have read about Illinois offering $8,000 for lower-income households and $4,000 for moderate-income households through the federal Home Electrification and Appliance Rebate program. That program is real, but as of mid-2026 the Illinois EPA still has it pending federal approval and is not accepting applications.

If your household income falls below 150% of the area median, it may be worth checking epa.illinois.gov before you buy. If the program opens, it stacks with the ComEd rebate.

What this means for your project

The honest summary: federal support went away, utility support did not. For most Villa Park homeowners, the ComEd rebate is now the primary incentive on the table, and it’s substantial enough to change the math on a heat pump upgrade.

Call (630) 517-5371 and we’ll tell you exactly what your project qualifies for before you spend anything.