After going to bed in a comfortably cool house, I needed to toss the covers off of me in the middle of the night. The temperature the following day was predicted to be the hottest day of the year. Fearing the worst, I checked the thermostat. The temperature was well over the set point and rising quickly. I called and left a message for Riley Heating & Cooling, with whom we have a maintenance contract. By shortly after 8 a.m. we were on their schedule and six hours later the service man arrived. It had gotten to be 90*F in my home office. The temperature topped out at 100.4*F (114*F 'real feel!), the hottest day of the year. An hour after he'd arrived, the temperature in our house was heading back to where it belonged. Tonight, I'm back under the covers where I belong. Thank you SO much Riley Heating & Cooling! You resolved our very uncomfortable 'crisis' promptly. We are grateful for your response! Jeff & Sue B., River Forest read more

LADIES BE CAREFUL WITH THIS COMPANY!!! TAKES ADVANTAGE OF WOMEN!!! DISHONEST BUSINESS!! Company will give you lady of the house treatment! Last year, my mom and I were quoted $37,000 to do our AC system by Fred. We have a 2 story house. Fred also suggested a lot of unnecessary work that didn't need to be done. Not to mention he suggested his friends to do other "repairs" for things that are working perfectly fine, and the other 3 companies we got estimates from told us issues he brought up were completely fine. Ended up getting it done by another company for just over $12,000, which is working very well. I felt like Fred was talking to us like we were dumb, and the other honest companies and the outrageous estimate confirmed my intuition. Grateful for this experience because Fred showed me exactly how companies try to take advantage of women. I'll always get multiple estimates to make sure I'm not being taken advantage of because I'm a woman. read more

Quick response time and very friendly. This was our 2nd time using Riley. Will continue to use their services. read more

Mike from Riley came out today . I appreciate this because I'm recovering from surgery . Very experienced & honest , he replaced a part and coolness is flowing again ! Greatly appreciate this entire staff from the phone receptionist to Bernie who scheduled to Mike who remedied the issue. Highly recommend! read more

Terrible service provider. Paul came out to repair an AC coil. I had several issues with his service and won't ever call Riley again. I also have a rental property that they service and plan to switch providers. Paul came out to repair an AC coil. The service fee was $195 and then Paul also wanted to charge $450 to put in a new HVAC filter and unclog a drainage line. After Paul became frustrated with being unable to make the repairs that he suggested, he passive aggressively lied and told me nobody could repair my old AC. Of course I was still charged for Paul not being able to make the repair (roughly $650 total.) The impression I received was that Paul would just rather replace the whole thing for an overpriced amount. My guess is that this is Riley company procedure not to fix anything but quote excessive replacement costs. The quote for a new AC came in at $4500 when in fact it would cost $3500 with Four Seasons HVAC for the same AC. In general, this company was very unprofessional. I work with many contractors on a regular basis and I can tell you that Paul is an absolute hack of a technician. For the issue that Paul couldn't fix, I called Direct Mechanical and had the issue resolved quickly and for only $700 total. Shame on you Riley! read more

Quickly showed up and fixed my system that others were trying to upsell me on replacing. Nice technician and a fair price!

We had Riley out recently to replace our entire HVAC system. Fred came out first to look over the job and make recommendations. It was obvious that he has a wealth of HVAC experience. The installation team did a great job. They were careful working around our basement and did a nice cleanup job. We will definitely use Riley in the future for our HVAC needs. read more

I purchased a boiler from Riley Heating and Cooling earlier this year. Fred Kahn, the owner, gave me proposal in January. Also in January a family member experienced a very serious health issue which took up much of my time until late spring. Fred held the price for me even though it was way beyond the expiration date. I also got a second estimate from another local company, but the price was several thousand dollars higher. Mike did the installation of the new boiler. He was efficient and had everything completed in less that two days. I have been using Riley since 1988 and have always found them responsive, efficient, and honest. read more

I called my Boiler guy because my furnace wasn't igniting and they told me it would be eight days before they could come by, I called Riley heating and cooling, and they came out in two days, fix the problem, my boiler is working great, thank you Riley heating and cooling for your quick response, great employee, honest work. read more

So I need to give a shout out to Riley Heating and cooling. Especially Jason and I can't remember the other tech name. They replaced my furnace and a/c and did a fantastic job. Before and after pictures. read more

See all

We moved into an older home about a year ago, and it was clear we needed a new furnace and air conditioning unit. When making such a large investment, it was important that we felt confident and comfortable with the company we chose. Riley Hearing and Cooling was able to schedule install when we were available, corrected some issues the people who rehabbed our house had created, and were incredibly professional and efficient with their time. Three months later, we had an issue with a part of the new furnace, and our basement ended up with some standing water from a leak that aaa created from a broken hose. Riley was able to have a service provider out to our home within an hour and a half, and the issue was resolved within 45 minutes. My husband and I are incredibly thankful we chose Riley for our heating and cooling needs, and we would strongly recommend them. With a young child at home, it is incredibly important to have reliable service, and I am happy to say we found that with Riley! read more

Called Riley thinking I needed a new furnace. They called back promptly and suggested a service visit to make sure it a replacement was needed. Mike was dispatched to look, he arrived on time, layer down a tarp upon entering my home and was extremely careful to not get anything dirty. After a thorough check, we determined that a new furnace wasn't needed. Just a cleaning. Overall very professional, respectful of my time and most importantly my $$$. read more

My heat went out January 3rd called them to send a tech over, and he left me in the cold because my basement is small and he decided the area to work in was too crowded. If this is the kind of service you're looking for these are your folks. read more

This place gave stellar service for years. We had a maintenance contract and things ran smoothly. But in recent years, it is as if it collapsed. Formerly we got reminders in the Fall for maintenance of the furnace and in the Spring, maintenance for the air conditioning system they installed for the Summer. But now, it is as if they have practically gone out of business, or don't want any. It is hard to know what happened. You want to give people the benefit of the doubt because of the disappearing labor force that happened during the pandemic. But put the honest to goodness status on your website then, so that people won't expect service you can't deliver. For the past two years there has been no reminder calls for maintenance from them. OK, but when I finally made one, the man who came out to do the check up, mentioned easier ways to run an air conditioning system (that was already running) which were expensive. A call to the company this past Saturday and the answering service said someone would call me on Monday. It's Wednesday and no one has called. Another call to the company today and there was a recorded message, saying much including, "We record these calls for quality control." And then put me on hold for fifteen or twenty minutes. What, do they think people have nothing to do?! I hung up. Their quality control must not be working at all! I won't be calling this company any more. They had a good thing going for years and if customers understand the state of things going wrong or being harder during the pandemic, I think customers would be patient. I know I would.... but not getting any response at all, they have taken some of their success and customers for granted. Some of us won't stick around. read more

I've been meaning to write this review for awhile but was urged to again after a new discovery. 2 years ago, our heat went out 2 days before Christmas. We had an emergency technician attempt to resolve the problem that evening with the attempt being unsuccessful as he misdiagnosed the problem. He stated that our 2nd floor thermostat was broken and needed to be replaced. He didn't have the replacement at the time and had to order it. However, after resetting the system, the heat randomly began working again so instead of scheduling service the day before Christmas, we let it go and hoped for the best. The heat goes out again several days later. 2nd technician comes out and tells me it's my first floor thermostat. There had never been an issue with either thermostat, however, he removes the thermostat to work on wiring and after putting it back on, the digital screen is malfunctioning. Again, there was no issue prior to his arrival so he broke our thermostat and still didn't diagnose our heating issue. A new thermostat is now needed for the 1st floor. We go with the new WiFi model since we had been upgrading all the electrical in our home and are told that we owe over $1000 for the new thermostat. I never needed a new thermostat so we work out an agreement that we only pay the difference between the price of a regular 2 zone thermostat and the upgraded WiFi thermostat and we still had no heat. That amount came to around $200 which we were happy to pay even though the cost to repair the damage he caused to my plaster walls far exceeded that. 3rd technician arrives after another failed attempt to fix our heat. He says it's an outdoor sensor wire but because of the snow it would have to wait until Spring to fix the issue. In the meantime, he gets our heat working but only with the AC disconnected. Spring arrives and technician #3 arrives again to fix the outdoor sensor wire. It still doesn't work. He is in my home for the entire day dismantling every piece of our system. AC/Heat is still not working. He calls for service manager help. Service manager arrives next day and is still unable to diagnose the problem. Hours of my time are wasted because of this company's inability to diagnose the problem with my system WHICH THEY INSTALLED. It is finally determined that a direct Bryant distributor will need to come out to fix the issue. Digging around paperwork left behind by the original home owner, I discover a warranty that was still in effect. It was under the original owners's name so I ask Bernie if she can transfer it to our name and she happily takes care of it. The warranty gets transferred to us and it's all a go with having the Bryant technician come out. Bryant technician arrives with Riley tech and after several hours the issue is FINALLY resolved. I am later sent a bill for ONE service appointment and the difference in cost for the thermostat. Again, HAPPY to pay. Several days later, I receive a call from Bernie that the part they put in is not covered under warranty and that I owe $2500!!! $2500 for a part! Imagine my shock when I hear that dollar amount. There was absolutely no discussion at the time of servicing that this part would cost me anything, let alone $2500. I was under the impression that it was covered under warranty and ANY parts that are the customer's responsibility MUST BE DISCUSSED BEFORE INSTALLING! Nothing was discussed. Bryant showed up, he fixed, he left. I was handed a bill for around $350 (thermostat and service call). Our system was 10 years old at the time. A new furnace would have cost a fraction more than that part. I was offered absolutely no other options and when I complained about the unauthorized part, they threatened me and said that if I don't pay, they would come into my house and take it out. What type of business installs a $2500 part without discussing the charges with the homeowner first? Their technicians were unable to diagnose and fix my problem. They came 7 times without any resolution. They had to call in the manufacturer for their help because of their many failed attempts. I do not think that after hours upon hours of my wasted time and absolutely no discussion whatsoever about what was needed to actually fix the problem should be my responsibility. I email the service manager and explain in detail my dissatisfaction with everything. He says the charges are valid and that he believes they did a "great job getting it resolved". HA! After several weeks of trying to negotiate, I get a letter from a collection agency for $2726. I explain to the collection agency that I will be getting my attorney involved if they don't settle for something reasonable. I offer them $1000 just to get them off my back and I hear nothing for several months thinking they finally came to their senses. Nope. It's now an outstanding debt on my credit report and my credit is shot. Thanks Riley. read more

They did right by us. Responsive, transparent, priced fairly, informative..., and they quickly solved our HVAC issues. Yelp says this review is "shorter than most" but what else needs to be said?! read more

Replaced a boiler in Oak Park. Expensive job. Got 2 bids. Riley HC was in the same ballpark as its main competitor but for a better quality boiler. Full day job. 2 guys, sometimes 4. Worked perfectly from the start. One month later, still working perfectly. Have used them for years, and found the service techs to be trustworthy problem solvers. read more

We installed a new boiler a month ago ($10,000). It is 5 degrees less than one month later. We waited over 2 hours for service call. When I asked for a boiler, I told them I wanted the same furnace, same model updated. I got an estimate for $12,000 (installation 3 days later while we were at a hotel). One day after the estimate, I got a call that the $12,0000 boiler was not available. But they were able to get the brand I requested for $10,000. He said, "It's a good day when you save $2000." I said, "It is not a good day when I discover I was gouged an extra $2000 for brand name I DID NOT REQUEST!" I asked why he didn't give me the brand Weil-McLain that I requested. No answer. One month after paying $10,000, I am in the cold again. 5 degrees outside. read more

I had George out last week for the annual HVAC check up and found that it was time for a new furnace (sad face, not what I want to spend money on...) George was really nice and gave me a few options and a quick estimate. No pressure and he didn't make me feel like I had to make a decision that minute. That goes a long way with me. I stewed about it for a week or so and then called Fred talk it out. He and the entire staff were so kind, respectful and responsive. I have only great things to say about everyone I talked to at Riley. My new furnace was installed in one day and we are warm and comfy! read more

I think this place is over priced. Had my spark module replaced -part worth $140. Billed me $749 parts and labor for an hour work. They charged $600 for labor and service call!!! read more

I had a furnace and air conditioner put in when my previous equipment was destroyed in the Flood of 2010. At that time, decided to give Riley's a call. Got high efficiency Bryant units. Never a problem until last week when a minor part went bad preventing the furnace from starting. I called Riley's and while I knew the equipment was still under warranty, I expected to have to pay. Anyway first guy comes out and diagnoses the problem but part has to be ordered. Bernie, the lady in the office calls and tells me it will in next day. I says it gets cold at night with no heat and she says she will see what she can do. Anyway, she gets Don to come by late in the afternoon and put part in. I'm all set and happy. I was so happy I called the owner Fred and told him how pleased I was with the attentiveness and professionalism from his people. Then it started acting up again and I contact Fred. He kindly offers a guy come out. Paul comes out and the problem can't be duplicated and hasn't happened again. Paul exhibited much patience too! Here's the deal. We all know how heating and a/c guys can be. But the professionalism of Riley's can't be beat. It's not that they stood by the product...heck, I got a warranty! It's HOW they did it. Making sure I was completely satisfied. Way to go, Fred, Bernie, Paul, and techs. Thanks for your help. So call Riley's. You'll be a delighted customer, too. read more

We had a motor out on our furnace and were quoted $1400 for replacement. The second opinion quoted $300 to replace the motor. The technician also was looking at AC units for unknown reasons and stated our other functioning furnace may need to be replaced. I would recommend at least one other set of eyes if using this company. read more

I love Riley. I can always get someone on the phone. And have always been able to get an appointment within a reasonable time. Prior to calling them, I had a high efficiency Weil-McLain boiler installed. It gave us nothing but trouble from within days of it being installed. It would quit (with an error) at least once a month throughout it's short life until it fried itself. I called Riley to have them come out and replace it. Which they did with a good boiler which has never given us a moments trouble. We have Riley come out once a year to service and clean the boiler, and once a year to service our AC units. The technicians are always knowledgeable, efficient, and courteous. What more could I want? read more

Riley Is the best! Top notch professionals like Don come to our home each spring and fall to keep our equipment running right . They are open , honest and will explain everything to you if needed. Our family has been using Riley for over 20 years and have always been extremely impressed . Don't wait until your AC craps out on a 90 degree day . Call Riley -A name you can trust . read more

Yesterday John came for my 14 years old furnace that was not working properly. He inspected it and said that it needed maintenance. He cleaned it. He also told me that the furnace (the smallest on the market because of the small area) was old and needed to be replaced. He gave me an estimate of $6526.00 for replacing furnace and air conditioning with similar units. The estimate included senior and other discounts, otherwise the bill was $8424.00 for the smallest units. The separate bill for his yesterday service (service call and maintenance - no part replaced) was $210.00. A few hours later, the furnace was not working again. I called to complain. I was told that John has warned me that the furnace was old and that they do not work for free. Therefore, if I wanted John to come over, I would have to pay again a service call plus whatever. My question to John and other Riley's employees/owners: why did you tell me that the furnace needed just maintenance? And why did you do it, if you thought that was useless? But maybe the answer is what they told me: that they do not work for free and the more they work - even if no work is needed - the more money they make. read more

Riley Heating and Cooling not only got back to me right away - they made me feel comfortable right away. Their staff is friendly, knowledgeable and experienced. read more

I've used Riley in the past, both for replacing my air conditioner at our old condo as well as for service calls. They are courteous, professional, and timely without fail. After having a draft inducer on our furnace fail, we needed a quick replacement, as it was a Friday entering into a cold weekend. The draft inducer on our unit is held in place with four screws and uses a single plug to operate...a job an untrained professional like myself could do (and did, to see how easy it is) in ten minutes. I could order this part for less than $400, but delivery would be Monday, so we (my son, myself,, and my wife who has stage IV cancer) would have to suffer through the weekend if I did that. I was thinking that with labor, this was at most a $600 job, and was willing to pay for the convenience. Turns out to be a $1000 plus dollar job that takes ten minutes. The receipt isn't even itemized so I can't tell how much they gouged me for price on the part versus labor. I feel taken advantage of, and will not be using them again. read more

Our first and only time we used this company to provide service for our central A/C. We responded to an ad received in the mail. They charged the A/C unit was charged, and they replaced the thermostat which they claimed was defective with a "cadillac" model (supposedly). The price quoted was six times higher for the thermostat than it could be purchased on the Internet. After contacting them, they refused to give any credit or bill adjustment. I find it hard to believe, that the old thermostat, which was less than a year old was defective, but we were at their "mercy" and agreed. Not a reliable company to do business with. I would not recommend them to anyone, friends or enemies! I guess the old adage, "Caveat emptor" (let the buyer beware), applies, and we will NEVER use their services, even though they were competively priced in our local market. If this is the way they treat their customers, I'm surprised that they have been in business as long as they have. I FEEL "RIPPED OFF" FROM THIS EXPERIENCE read more

Riley repaired our AC condenser fan motor for $200. Russ of Riley told us he'd order a $600 replacement fan. We started up the ac in front of Russ as it was a 90 degree day. He was happy to restore our ac on a hot, humid day. Very nice guy. Russ, however, never told us that running the unit for two weeks until he could get the new fan might damage the unit. We continued using the unit. We've had a series of hot July days. The day before the parts arrived on 7/16/13, the unit shut down again. John from Riley came to replace the fan and diagnosed the problem as the condenser had shorted to ground because, without the fan working properly, the condenser overheated. Fred Kahn, a manager, tried to tell us that we didn't understand John correctly. The Lennox merely overheated because a fuse failed to activate and shut down. Fred said we needed to replace the condenser for $5,000. After some discussion about how the stories weren't lining up between Fred the manager and John the technician, Fred called Lennox to see if they would honor the warranty. They wouldn't. Fred offered to replace the condenser for $1,432, the cost of the unit to him. No labor charge. Fred felt it was the right thing to do and it was. Not crazy about the mistake that causes me to pay $800 more than I was planning just to keep my ac running, but I get a new unit now and no labor charges. Good business decision and Frank did me a solid. read more

A complete ripoff!!! My AC went out on a hot day last week so I requested them to come out based on a friends referral. I called and was told that it was $75 for a service visit. The guy spent 10 minutes diagnosing the problem and determined that the capacitor needed replacing. Takes another 20-30 min replacing the part which goes for max $60 retail, and then hands me a bill for $479!!! I paid as I felt I had no choice. I called the company today to understand why I was charged so much and was greeted by a very rude person who told me I should just call back when the manager is available and without any concern or offering to call back. I'm appalled and will never use them again and I urge anyone else to stay away!! There are much better and more reasonable companies out there. read more

Yeah. Never mind. Got the little lady of the house treatment the next time and was looking at anywhere from $600-11,000 by their estimate. Funny how it was fixed for near nothing by another company and has been working just fine these warmed up days. Family friend retired from heating cooling thought the paperwork Riley gave me was a joke. The entire process of the second time I called Riley out was off. He sat in his car for 20 minutes writing a sales pitch from a Corporate template and I felt every bit of it while he went over it with me like he was my pal. 2 people already took this name from me-to remember to NOT call them if needed. read more

They got back to me quickly. They came the same day! They completed an easy job at my house, and George was very knowledgable and helpful. Downside is their cost. $165.00 for a service call. Luckily I had a coupon from their website for $50.00 off. read more

First I want to say that no work was done, so I cannot evaluate their work. Second, buyer beware, they have a $125 service charge (no one mentioned to me when making the appointment) to come and look at my central ac unit, I got no estimate for repairing or replacing the unit...for an estimate, you have to make another appointment to schedule someone to come out again for that! No apologies for the oversight in mentioning that $125 fee...I feel robbed! read more

Service and prices getting worse. After being a customer of Riley for over 10 years, I was extremely disappointed with my last few interactions. Going forward I will always get a second opinion before any major repairs/replacements suggested by Riley. My furnace (which was installed by Riley 10 years ago) died last night - just in time for the second arctic freeze when outside temps dropped below zero. Called them at 1pm, J*** arrived after 4pm (after being informed by the dispatcher that he would be at my house around 3pm), and he worked until 7pm. By this time the inside temps dropped to 40 degrees. Throughout the process he kept changing his diagnosis of the issue (first a faulty circuit, then a blown blower motor, and then a "defective" heater exchanger) and with each diagnosis kept mentioning that given the price of labor, it would make more sense to replace the entire furnace than replace the part -- even though they were under manufacturer warranty! (This was especially odd since Jason's first explanation for the exchanger failure was age, while it was still under warranty!) Then at the stroke of 7pm, he packed his things and prepared to leave. Concerned about the likelihood of frozen and burst water pipes due to lack of heat and my own safety, I pushed him for options (which he did not offer). After suggesting the purchase of electric heaters, he left -- with furnace parts, including the blower motor, housing, panels, and wires exposed and strewn all over the floor. With little to no options, I called a contractor/ex-cop buddy of mine for advice. He referred me to another guy who literally came over at 9pm, stayed until 2:30am, and helped restore the heat. He confirmed that the blower motor was in fact just fine and offered to come back later that morning (he had a furnace installation job at 7am!) to check up on a few things and make sure the furnace was properly working. He left the job site clean and orderly. I mentioned to him both the diagnoses from Riley and, without knowing the prices quoted by them, quoted me estimates SUBSTANTIALLY less. AND, note to Riley, not once did he push the replacement with a new furnace as the way to go. As of this writing I'm still deciding which way to go, but the difference in expertise, professionalism, and cost between the two contractors was striking. But one thing is clear -- Riley has gone down several notches in my estimation. read more

I was quoted 190 dollars for a part they didn't have. I called a friend who is in the business and asked if he could order the part. 5 dollars for the part I installed in under two minutes. I was also told the heat exchange was cracked 1900 dollar estimate. Then he said just buy a new furnace 3300 dollars. So I decided to take a chance and spend 5 dollars on a replacement part. I save 3295 dollars. My advice to them don't try and take advantage of a union person in the trade! read more

FYI - Riley charges $125 to give an estimate, which I learned when they gave me a bill after looking at my boiler. I was not told this when I scheduled the appointment. Riley was the second of three companies I'm calling. The first came out immediately, checked my furnace, prepared a detailed recommendation and estimate. No charge. read more

I just used Riley Heating & Cooling to replace one of my two units. They were very punctual in coming out to provide me an estimate. What I really liked was Fred, who performed the inspection, did not recommend systems that were beyond the capabilities of what I needed. He gave me options, but he wasn't proposing systems that would be overkill just to sell me something that provided him higher margins. His pricing was fair and within range of the other companies for like units. Additionally, he was able to install the system quickly and just in time before a heat wave. They were on time, worked efficiently, and cleaned up after they were finished. I must say my whole house is more comfortable with the new air conditioner he installed. read more

This is the second time I've written a review for Riley Heating & Cooling but feel it's warranted. Riley installed my new boiler and basement radiators a few years ago and while the overall unit has been great, it did have a small handful of kinks to be worked out as it was brand new (which anyone should expect). All said, each time I called Riley to let them know what was going on they would send their team out that day and fix immediately... no questions asked. This happened again the other day when I noticed some water was leaking from the system and I was concerned I would lose heat shortly (winter time in Chicago had me a bit worried). Again, Riley sent their team right out, replaced a valve they found to be the problem, checked on everything else (even though they had already done the regular maintenance a few weeks before) and didn't charge me a thing (boiler is still under warranty). It's obvious Fred Kahn (owner) and his team care about their customers and in no way want them losing heat. I couldn't be happier with my boiler and the Riley team and continue to highly recommend them . read more

I have had Riley keeping my boiler happy for over 20 years now. Their staff are helpful, friendly, personable and do great work. They have a 24 hour staffed help line, which is important, when it's winter and your furnace just died! (that never happened to me but I know someone to whom it did, who didn't use Riley!) I would recommend them to anyone without reservation. read more

I am a Purchasing Agent by trade, so I am used to separating the wheat from the chaff. Over the last 27-years, I have dealt with many dozens of outside contractors. I consider Riley Heating & Cooling to be one of the best outside contractors I have ever dealt with. They have taken care of my Weil-McLain boiler very well over the years, and, bottom line, I wouldn't consider going anywhere else. read more