Lennox Premier Dealer Serving Cook County, IL

Communities we serve in Cook County

GSHA’s service-area ZIP list covers Arlington Heights, Palatine, Des Plaines, Park Ridge, Mount Prospect, Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Rolling Meadows, Elk Grove Village, Schaumburg, Hoffman Estates and Streamwood in the northwest suburbs; Glenview, Northbrook, Morton Grove, Golf, Skokie, Wilmette, Kenilworth, Winnetka and Glencoe to the north; Franklin Park, Schiller Park, River Grove, Melrose Park, Hillside, Berkeley, Broadview and Westchester to the near west; and Tinley Park and Lemont to the south.

Some of these cross county lines, which affects permits and utilities rather than scheduling: Barrington and Buffalo Grove are partly in Lake County, Bartlett in DuPage and Kane, Hanover Park in DuPage, Lemont in DuPage and Will, Tinley Park in Will, and Elgin is a Kane County city whose Hanover Township portion is in Cook; Palatine is partly in Lake County and Schaumburg partly in DuPage County. GSHA pulls the permit from whichever municipality your address belongs to.

No City of Chicago ZIP code is on the list. GSHA crews have worked at Chicago addresses recently, but city coverage is not defined by ZIP, so Chicago homeowners should confirm their address with GSHA first. Other addresses not on the ZIP list, including Oak Park, Evanston, Cicero, Berwyn, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, Bridgeview, Norridge, Northlake, Matteson, Richton Park, Hinsdale and Burr Ridge, are confirmed one at a time. The full ZIP-code list is on the GSHA service area page; if your ZIP is missing, call (224) 220-3660.

Lennox equipment guidance for Cook County homes

In an older Cook County home, a new furnace usually changes how the furnace vents. A condensing Lennox furnace such as the SLP99VK (Up to 99% AFUE, modulating) or the EL297VK (Up to 97% AFUE, two-stage) vents through PVC pipe instead of the chimney and needs a condensate drain; if the old furnace shared a chimney with a gas water heater, the Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas rebate rules require a chimney liner, so GSHA inspects the flue on every estimate. AFUE is the share of the gas that becomes heat in the house, and the gas utilities’ 2026 furnace rebates are tiered at 95% and 97% AFUE. The County’s own permit application for unincorporated addresses asks whether ductwork changes and requires a justification when capacity changes by more than 15 percent; wherever the house is, a load calculation and duct check are part of every GSHA furnace estimate.

With natural gas in about 80 percent of homes, the practical heat-pump path is dual fuel: a Lennox heat pump cools and handles milder-weather heating, and the gas furnace takes over in the coldest weather. Lennox lists the SLP99VK and EL297VK as dual-fuel capable and the S40 Smart Thermostat with dual-fuel capability that alternates between gas and electric operation automatically. Cold-climate heat pumps for this role include the SL22KLV (Up to 21.10 SEER2, 13.2 EER2, and 10.50 HSPF2), the EL21KLV (Up to 20.50 SEER2 and 10.00 HSPF2) and the EL18KSLV (Up to 19.00 SEER2 and 10.00 HSPF2); SEER2 measures cooling efficiency, HSPF2 heating efficiency, and a matched system’s rating depends on the indoor unit. ComEd advertises instant discounts on ducted and ductless heat pumps through its contractor network; check current eligibility with ComEd.

About 16 percent of occupied homes heat with electricity, and more than half of all housing units are in buildings of two or more units, so condos and all-electric homes are common. There, a cold-climate heat pump or a Lennox mini-split Powered by Samsung is the replacement path: the single-zone MWLD is rated Up to 25.00 SEER2 and 11.00 HSPF2 and, per Lennox, maintains 100% capacity at 5°F and operates as low as -22°F, and the multi-zone MMLD (Up to 23.00 SEER2 and 10.50 HSPF2) runs up to five indoor units from one outdoor unit, which suits a finished attic or an addition without ductwork. Condo work needs the association’s sign-off, and on tight lots the EL18KSLV’s slim side-discharge cabinet (As low as 54 dB) or the SL22KLV (As low as 58 dB) helps when a side yard is the only option.

Thermostat compatibility comes from the Lennox spec sheet: the S40 works with premium Lennox communicating equipment only, the M40 with multi-stage non-communicating equipment, the E40 is listed for three-stage heat and two-stage cooling on a heat pump (two stages of each on a conventional system), and the L40’s compatibility is not published, so ask GSHA. For indoor air, GSHA installs Lennox Healthy Climate media air cleaners rated MERV 11, 13 and 16, a whole-home HEPA system, humidifiers that add up to 17 or 18 gallons of moisture a day in the heating season, whole-home dehumidifiers and heat- or energy-recovery ventilators.

Permits, utilities and installation considerations

Permits and inspections

Nearly every Cook County address is inside a municipality that issues its own HVAC permit; the Cook County Department of Building and Zoning covers only unincorporated areas and Forest Preserve land and cannot process permits for Chicago or incorporated suburbs (e-Permits). GSHA applies for the permit, supplies the proposal and equipment sheets, and meets the inspector. Permit fees below are the figures each municipality published (Palatine’s 2026 handouts and the Des Plaines City Code); fees change, and GSHA confirms the current fee when it applies.

• Arlington Heights lists “Furnace Replacement” and “Air Conditioner Replacement – Rear Yard” as over-the-counter permits applied for through the Civic Access portal; the AC guide requires the contractor’s proposal and a site plan or plat of survey showing the new unit’s location and distance from property lines, and treats a new location as a new unit; the furnace guide needs the proposal only.
• Palatine requires a permit for “replacing or installing an air conditioning, heating unit or water heater” (when a permit is required); replacements are Express permits filed online, and the Village’s 2026 AC and furnace handouts list a $103 fee per item, a possible five-day plan review, a final inspection with access to the electrical panel, and an emergency same-location start if the application is filed within one business day.
• Des Plaines takes applications through its Customer Self Service portal and inspection requests by phone or email (Building and Permits); City Code 10-13-3 lists “HVAC/Mechanical (remove/replace)” at $75 for one- and two-family homes, two inspections included.
• Park Ridge requires a permit for “heating and air conditioning work” and schedules inspections with a normal one-to-two-working-day wait, never same day (Permits and Inspections).
• Unincorporated Cook County uses a digital HVAC permit application that asks for the old and new equipment’s make, model and AFUE or SEER, any coil, line-set or duct changes, a justification if capacity changes by more than 15 percent, and a Cook County-registered HVAC contractor (Building and Zoning).
• City of Chicago (confirm your address first) exempts only an in-kind replacement of a furnace or air conditioner, of the same type, size and shape, in a residential building up to four stories; anything else needs a permit (Department of Buildings).

Where the outdoor unit can go

Arlington Heights lists central air conditioning compressors as a rear-yard obstruction at least 10 percent of the lot width from the side property line (Zoning Chapter 28). Palatine requires a rear or side yard (elsewhere if that yard faces a street), no more than a three-foot projection into a required yard, a fused disconnect within sight of the unit and rigid conduit outdoors (2026 AC handout). Des Plaines allows HVAC equipment in side and rear yards only, at least five feet from side and rear lot lines (City Code 12-7-1(C)). Park Ridge allows the front, corner side or rear yard, bars new units in the minimum interior side yard except as a same-location replacement, and requires full screening from public view (Zoning Section 11.4(i)). None of these codes was found to set a residential decibel limit; HOA rules can be stricter.

Utilities and rebates

The rebate depends on the utility on your bill. Nicor Gas serves most Cook suburbs on GSHA’s list, Peoples Gas serves Chicago, and North Shore Gas serves the communities from Winnetka north; Nicor’s Cook list also names Winnetka, Wilmette and Kenilworth and omits Glencoe, so GSHA confirms the gas utility from the bill along the north shore. ComEd is the electric utility everywhere except Winnetka, whose municipal electric department means ComEd residential programs do not apply there. For 2026 installations, Nicor Gas lists furnace rebates tiered at 95% and 97% AFUE plus a smart-thermostat rebate, applied for within 90 days of installation or by January 31, 2027; Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas share one application with the same AFUE tiers, a filing window of 30 days after installation (or December 31, 2026, whichever comes first), a sealed-combustion requirement and the chimney-liner rule; ComEd advertises instant discounts on heat pumps, mini-splits and ENERGY STAR smart thermostats through its contractor network, subject to eligibility and funding. Check current eligibility with ComEd and with Nicor Gas, Peoples Gas or North Shore Gas, and ask GSHA which programs your equipment qualifies for.

Gas, electrical and what GSHA handles

GSHA runs or extends the gas piping with a shut-off valve at the furnace, installs the PVC vent and condensate drain a condensing furnace needs, and its own licensed electricians install the condenser disconnect, conduit and any new circuit. The estimate covers sizing, equipment, permits and inspections, start-up and commissioning, a walkthrough and Lennox warranty registration; financing is described on GSHA’s financing page.

Recent GSHA work in Cook County

GSHA crews have recently worked in Arlington Heights, Palatine, Des Plaines, Mount Prospect, Glenview, Wheeling, Schaumburg and Hoffman Estates, and in Barrington and Bartlett on the county’s edges; jobs at individual Chicago addresses and in suburbs outside the ZIP list are confirmed case by case.

More Lennox pages

Lennox Premier Dealer in Northern Illinois (main page) · Lennox furnaces · Lennox air conditioners · Lennox heat pumps · Lennox mini-splits · Lennox thermostats

Other counties

• McHenry County, ILWoodstock office
• Lake County, ILLake Bluff office
• Kane County, ILserved from Woodstock and Lake Bluff
• DuPage County, ILserved from Woodstock and Lake Bluff
• Will County, ILserved from Woodstock and Lake Bluff