Heating and Cooling in Royal Oak, MI

Royal Oak heating and cooling from a family-owned crew

Royal Oak has some of the older housing in Oakland County. Census Bureau estimates put the typical home here in the mid-1950s, with roughly six in ten built before 1960 and about one in six before 1940. That means pre-war houses and post-war bungalows and ranches on small lots, plus newer condos and lofts downtown. A house that age has likely been through several furnaces, and the ducts and chimney serving the current one may be a good deal older than it is.

Maverick Heating and Cooling has been in business for 7 years. We are a family business, and we work the same way in every house: we arrive when we said we would, we find what actually failed, and we explain the options and the price before any work starts. Every job is 100% satisfaction guaranteed. For furnace repair, AC repair or a new system in Royal Oak, call 248-930-2080. We also work next door in Birmingham and across the rest of our Oakland County service area.

Homes built before central air

Many Royal Oak homes went up before air conditioning was standard, so the cooling was often added years later. In a forced-air house that usually means an air conditioner tied into ducts that were laid out for heat alone. Return ducts that are too small or too few are a common result. You notice it as weak airflow, a noisy system or an upstairs that never cools down.

So before we price a new air conditioner, we look at the ducts as well as the equipment. A new unit on starved ductwork will not perform as it should. Some homes of this age are heated by a boiler and have no ducts. We do not work on boilers, but we can cool that house with a ductless system or new ductwork.

Gas, electricity and water in Royal Oak

More than eight in ten Royal Oak homes heat with utility gas. Consumers Energy is the gas utility and DTE supplies the electricity. About one home in seven heats with electricity instead.

Consumers Energy has been replacing old gas pipeline here. Royal Oak was on its 2026 main replacement list, and a larger pipeline replacement serving Royal Oak and three other cities is due to finish by 2029. If you ever smell gas, leave the house without touching light switches or looking for the leak, then call 911 and Consumers Energy from outside.

City water comes from the Great Lakes Water Authority, and private wells are not typical. A tank water heater still collects sediment over the years, and a rumbling tank is the usual sign.