How Rock River Cooling Desk works

Rock River Cooling Desk connects homeowners in Rockford, and in the Winnebago and Boone County towns around it, with HVAC help at no charge to them. Nobody here climbs into attics or carries gauges; it is not an HVAC contractor. Each request goes to a single independent company that works your part of the area, and that company reaches out to look at the job, quote it and book it.

Who pays whom

The HVAC company pays a fee for each introduction. Homeowners pay Rock River Cooling Desk nothing, ever. Pricing belongs entirely to the company doing the work, as does the work itself.

Licenses and certifications in this trade

There is no Illinois state license for HVAC contractors, so the rules are local. Rockford's Construction and Development Services department requires mechanical contractors working in the city to hold a City mechanical license: an application, approval by the Mechanical Board, an exam, and a renewal every year. The City's mechanical permit is what covers putting in or replacing an air conditioner, furnace or ductwork. Loves Park, Machesney Park, Belvidere and the villages each run their own building departments. On top of any local license, federal rules say a technician who works on equipment that could release refrigerant must be EPA Section 608 certified. Ask the company about both, and ask for its certificate of insurance.

What we expect from the company

A quoted price before work begins. On any job of $1,000 or more, the Illinois "Home Repair: Know Your Consumer Rights" pamphlet. A written contract. And no hard sell. If you get less than that, call (815) 240-8786 and say so.

Sources

Every guide links its sources at the bottom. The weather counts and housing tables come from our own work with public records from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information and the Census Bureau. How we did it.

Photo credits

Images come from Unsplash under the Unsplash License, by Bruno Coimbra, Dave Hoefler, Taylor Flowe, Everett Pachmann, Kettenreaktion. They are illustrations, not pictures of any particular company's jobs.