Aux Heat vs Emergency Heat on a Heat Pump Thermostat
Aux comes on by itself to help a heat pump; emergency mode is a manual, backup-only setting. When each is normal in Minnesota and what both cost to run.
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Central Minnesota Heating and Cooling repairs and replaces furnaces, ACs, heat pumps and boilers in Vadnais Heights (Ramsey County), about 11 miles from downtown Minneapolis.
Vadnais Heights sits between I-35E and I-694 around Vadnais Lake, and the city's population more than doubled during the 1980s, so most homes date from that decade or the one after.
Updated October 21, 2026 · By Eric Brown, owner, Central Minnesota Heating and Cooling

Around town: Vadnais Lake · Vadnais-Snail Lakes Regional Park · Sucker Lake · Interstate 35E · Interstate 694
Book in Vadnais HeightsVadnais Heights incorporated in 1957 but stayed small for another two decades, with about 5,100 residents by 1980. Houses from that earlier stretch, ramblers and split-levels from the 1950s through the 1970s, sit in the older parts of town and around the lakes, and most are on at least their third furnace, often with the water heater still venting into the original chimney.
Then the 1980s more than doubled the population, and the 1990s added about 2,000 more. That period produced most of the city's townhome and twinhome associations and its two-story subdivisions. Growth leveled off around 2000, so relatively little has been built since. For heating and cooling, that makes Vadnais Heights a replacement market: the older homes need venting and duct attention, and the 1980s and 90s homes are on their second round of equipment, with first-generation high-efficiency furnaces giving way now.
Townhome furnaces in closets are easy to forget until the first cold morning they won't run. Boxes, vacuums and paint cans stacked against a louvered door choke the return air and, for older atmospheric furnaces, the combustion air, so the furnace overheats and trips its limit switch or burns dirty. Keep a clear space in front of it. Where the water heater shares that closet, a CO alarm within 10 feet of the bedrooms, required by state law, is the backstop.
Vadnais Heights has a lot of water and wetland for its size, between Vadnais Lake, Sucker Lake and the Snail Lakes parkland, and humid summer air comes with it. Houses backing onto the parkland see more cottonwood fluff and pollen on their condenser coils than houses on interior streets. In the 1980s townhomes, air conditioners that have never been replaced are almost certainly R-22 and well past 35 years old; a leak there usually ends the repair conversation.
Vadnais Heights is Xcel Energy territory for both gas and electricity. Xcel's Minnesota rebates cover the equipment these houses need most: high-efficiency gas furnaces, central AC and air-source heat pumps, some requiring a registered contractor. A smart thermostat enrolled in AC Rewards earns an annual reward, which suits townhomes where the thermostat is the simplest upgrade. Associations may add their own approval step before exterior equipment changes, so plan for that alongside the rebate paperwork.
Rebate programs change every year; check the utility's current terms before you buy. Our guides: Xcel and CenterPoint rebates, heat pump rebates, what happened to the federal credits.
Central Minnesota Heating and Cooling, owned by Eric Brown and in business since 2009, serves Vadnais Heights and nearby towns in Ramsey County, about 11 miles from downtown Minneapolis. We're open 7 days, 7am–9pm, and no-heat calls get priority. Call 612-429-3465.
An HVAC service call in Vadnais Heights is a flat $79 trip charge, waived when you approve the repair. You get a written price before any work. Installed prices are on our pricing page.
At that age we usually recommend replacing. Parts for a furnace that old are harder to find, the heat exchanger has been through decades of heating cycles, and older 80% units send a fifth of the gas's heat up the flue. If it's a small fix like an igniter and you need a season to plan, we'll repair it and tell you what we saw. Replacement gets a written quote and a Manual J.
Usually. We measure the closet height, the door opening and the service clearance during the quote visit and choose a cabinet that fits, then plan the PVC vent route and the condensate drain. Where the water heater shares the closet, we check its venting too. If the association controls exterior vent locations, we get that approval before install day.
For a two-story, often yes. A single-stage furnace runs full blast and shuts off, which overheats the upstairs and leaves the main floor cool between cycles. A two-stage or variable-speed furnace runs longer at low output with a quieter blower, so the floors stay closer in temperature and the AC removes more humidity. It costs more up front; the difference shows most in houses with a warm-upstairs problem.
Both, for different things. The city issues the mechanical permit, and an inspection follows the work. The association is a separate approval: many want to review exterior changes such as a new vent location or condenser before work starts. Send us the association's rules early, and we'll plan the vent route and equipment to fit them.
Aux comes on by itself to help a heat pump; emergency mode is a manual, backup-only setting. When each is normal in Minnesota and what both cost to run.
Read the guideMake-up air replaces what a range hood blows outside. Learn when Minnesota's code requires it, why big hoods can backdraft a water heater, and how to fix it.
Read the guideWater under your furnace, even in summer? Find the source by where it drips: drain, pump, humidifier or AC coil, and what our $79 trip charge covers.
Read the guideBrands we service in Vadnais Heights: Carrier · Trane · Lennox · Goodman · Rheem · Mitsubishi Electric · Daikin · American Standard · Navien · Weil-McLain · and every other major brand
Heat out in Vadnais Heights? Call or send a request.