Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning has been headquartered in Skokie since long before most of the village looked the way it does today. The business started in 1904 delivering coal and ice by horse-drawn carriage, made the switch to furnace repair in 1955, and has stayed with the same family for four generations since. That local footprint isn’t a marketing line, it’s why a technician can usually reach a Skokie home faster than almost anywhere else we serve. Our Carrier-certified team installs, repairs, replaces, and maintains furnaces, air conditioners, boilers, heat pumps, ductless systems, and indoor air quality equipment throughout the village. Call 847-861-5559 or request service online to schedule service today.
Air Conditioning Repair & Installation
Warm air from the vents, short cycling, unusual noise, or a leak are all reasons to call before assuming a system is done for. Our air conditioner technicians diagnose the actual problem first and repair whatever can be repaired; when a unit is old enough or undersized for the space, we’ll install the right higher-efficiency replacement instead, and a seasonal tune-up keeps whichever system you land on running the way it should.
Cooling needs vary across Skokie’s mix of housing. Established homes near downtown Skokie, around Oakton Street and Lincoln Avenue, often have original ductwork that needs careful sizing for a new system, while newer construction near the redeveloped Illinois Science + Technology Park area tends to run higher-efficiency equipment that just needs a straightforward tune-up.
Furnace Repair & Installation
When a furnace won’t start or heats a home unevenly, the cause is usually something specific and fixable, a failing igniter, a clogged flame sensor, a thermostat mounted in the wrong spot, rather than a sign the whole unit needs to go. Our technicians track down the actual issue first. When the equipment itself is what’s failing, we handle the replacement and size the new furnace correctly for your home; either way, keeping up with maintenance is what keeps that decision further off.
Homes near Oakton Park and Emily Oaks Nature Center tend to be older and sometimes run furnaces original to the house, while properties closer to the West Dempster Street corridor have seen more renovation over the years. A fall inspection before the first hard freeze is the easiest way to avoid a no-heat call in January regardless of which side of that split your home falls on.
Boiler Repair & Installation
Quiet, even heat is the reason so many of Skokie’s older homes still run on boilers instead of a furnace. Our technicians repair and maintain hydronic systems and radiator heat without treating them like something they’re not, and when a full install or replacement makes more sense than another repair, we’ll explain why before we explain what it costs.
Some of the village’s longest-standing homes, in the neighborhoods that trace back to Skokie’s original Niles Centre days near downtown, still have their original boiler systems. Understanding why they were designed a certain way lets us recommend upgrades that improve efficiency without tearing out something that’s still doing its job.
Heat Pump Installation & Repair
One system that heats and cools sounds simple, but whether a heat pump is the right one depends heavily on insulation and how cold a Skokie winter actually gets on your block. Our technicians install, repair, and maintain heat pump systems and can tell you honestly whether a standard heat pump gets you through a Skokie January or whether pairing one with backup furnace heat makes more sense.
Homeowners renovating near Old Orchard and in the newer residential pockets around the village are increasingly landing on heat pumps instead of a separate furnace-and-AC setup, especially where a home’s insulation has already been updated as part of the same project.
Geothermal Heat Pump Services
The appeal of geothermal is long-term operating cost, but the upfront install only makes sense on a property with room for proper loop placement. Our technicians evaluate lot size, yard access, and existing mechanicals before recommending geothermal installation, repair, or ongoing maintenance, rather than treating it as a fit for every home.
Skokie’s larger lots in the southwest part of the village, near Lockwood and Lorel parks, tend to have more of the yard space geothermal actually needs. For homeowners evaluating it, we’ll tell you plainly whether your property can support it before you spend money finding out the hard way.
Mini Split & Ductless Systems
A single room that needs its own heating and cooling doesn’t have to mean opening up walls for new ductwork. A ductless system handles an addition, a converted basement, or a single stubborn room without the cost and disruption of extending ductwork that isn’t there to begin with. Our technicians install new systems, repair or replace units that are underperforming, and keep existing ductless equipment maintained so it lasts.
Multi-family properties near the Touhy Avenue corridor and older homes near downtown Skokie are common candidates, since additions and converted spaces in these areas frequently have no practical duct access at all.
Indoor Air Quality Services
Filtration, purification, ventilation, the right upgrade depends on what your current indoor air quality setup is already doing, so that’s where we start. Sometimes the fix is a repair or a simple filter swap; other times a home needs a new system installed, or an aging one replaced, to deal with what’s circulating through it.
Homes near the North Shore Channel and the Skokie Northshore Sculpture Park deal with the same humidity swings as the rest of the area, and the right IAQ fix depends on whether that’s actually what’s driving the complaint or whether it’s dust, pet dander, or ventilation instead.
Zone Control System Installation
When one part of the house won’t cooperate with the thermostat no matter what you do, the fix is usually zone control systems, not a bigger unit. We install dampers and separate thermostats so each part of the house runs at its own setting, repair components that stick or fail, and maintain the system so it keeps performing the way it was designed to.
Larger homes near Lockwood and Lorel parks in southwest Skokie often have finished basements, additions, or rooms with heavy sun exposure that all want something different from a single thermostat. Zoning solves that without forcing the whole system to work harder than it needs to.
Water Heater Repair & Replacement
A water heater rarely fails without warning, longer recovery times, inconsistent temperature, and strange noise usually show up first. We repair what’s fixable, and when replacement makes more sense, we’ll explain whether a like-for-like install or a switch to tankless solves the problem for your household.
Multi-family buildings near the Touhy Avenue corridor and larger households throughout the village routinely push a standard tank system to its limit during peak morning hours, which is usually when a tankless upgrade starts to pay for itself instead of just replacing the same equipment again.
Commercial HVAC Services
For a business, downtime is the expensive part, not the repair, so our commercial services team focuses on turnaround first and stocks the parts that fail most often during peak season. We also handle new installs, full equipment replacements, and the maintenance contracts that keep a building from needing an emergency call in the first place.
The retailers and restaurants around Westfield Old Orchard, along with the merchants in downtown Skokie near Oakton and Lincoln, depend on reliable heating and cooling to keep customers and employees comfortable year-round, and since our office is a short drive from either, commercial calls in the village get some of our fastest response times.
HVAC Maintenance Plans
Swapping a filter is the smallest part of what a real maintenance visit involves. Our technicians check electrical connections, verify refrigerant charge and airflow, and catch the small wear that turns into a bigger repair, or an early replacement, if it’s left alone for another season. Shavitz maintenance plans include two visits a year along with discounts and priority scheduling.
Spring cooling checks and fall furnace or boiler maintenance matter most in Skokie’s older homes near downtown and around Oakton Park, where original equipment has less margin for error than a newer system would. Either visit is also when we flag anything that’s likely to need a fuller install down the road, before it becomes urgent.
Why Skokie Homeowners Choose Shavitz
Bronson Shavitz represents the fourth generation of his family to run this company, a business that’s been headquartered in Skokie since long before most of the village’s current homes were built. That’s not incidental; it means our technicians have serviced the same streets, the same building stock, and often the same houses, for decades.
That longevity comes with credentials too: Carrier Factory Authorized Dealer status, N.A.T.E. certified technicians, the Carrier President’s Award, and a Contractor of the Year honor from the Greater Chicago Refrigeration Service Engineers Society. Nearly 2,900 Google reviews averaging 4.9 stars reflect what that looks like on an average service call, not just on paper.
Frequently Asked Skokie HVAC Questions
Is it worth repairing a furnace or AC that’s over 10 years old, or should I just replace it?
Age alone isn’t the deciding factor, repair cost relative to replacement cost is. If a repair runs less than half the price of a new system and the equipment hasn’t failed repeatedly, it’s usually worth fixing. Past that threshold, or with equipment already in its second decade, replacement typically saves money over the next few years. Our technicians walk you through the actual numbers for your specific system rather than defaulting to either answer.
How fast can Shavitz get a technician to a Skokie home for an emergency repair?
Since our office is based in Skokie, homes here are some of the fastest calls for us to reach. Same-day service is common for no-heat and no-cool emergencies, and we prioritize those over routine visits when the schedule allows. Call 847-861-5559 or request service online and we’ll get a technician out as soon as we can.
What should I look for in an HVAC company for an older Skokie home versus a newer build?
Look for a company with real experience on both ends, boiler and radiator systems in homes near downtown Skokie, and high-efficiency forced air or heat pump systems in newer or recently renovated properties. A technician who only knows one side of that will either overcomplicate a simple job or miss what makes an older system different.
Do I need a permit to replace or install HVAC equipment in Skokie?
In most cases, yes, mechanical permits are typically required through the Village of Skokie for equipment replacement and new installation work. We handle that paperwork as part of installation jobs so it’s one less thing on your plate.
Is an HVAC maintenance plan worth it, or should I just call when something breaks?
A maintenance plan usually costs less over a year than a single emergency repair, and it catches the wear that leads to no-heat and no-cool calls in the first place. For older Skokie homes with boilers or original ductwork, staying ahead of small issues matters even more, since those systems tend to fail at the worst possible moment, the coldest night or the hottest week.
Is a geothermal system realistic for a typical Skokie lot?
It depends on the lot. Smaller, tightly spaced properties near downtown Skokie usually don’t have the yard space geothermal loops need, while larger lots in the southwest part of the village are often a better fit. Our technicians can tell you plainly whether your specific property qualifies before you invest in a design.
What makes Shavitz different from another North Shore HVAC company?
Being headquartered in Skokie for four generations means we’ve likely already serviced a home like yours, or the one next door to it. Add in Carrier’s top dealer distinction and a 4.9-star average across nearly 2,900 reviews, and it’s less about taking our word for it and more about checking what your neighbors already said.
Schedule HVAC Service in Skokie, IL
From an original boiler near downtown Skokie to a new heat pump near Old Orchard to commercial HVAC for a West Dempster Street business, Shavitz Heating and Air Conditioning handles it, right from our own backyard. We serve homeowners and businesses throughout Skokie with heating, cooling, indoor air quality, and commercial HVAC services.
From emergency repairs to full replacements, the goal doesn’t change: honest advice and work done right. Call 847-861-5559 or request service online to schedule your appointment today.