|
Written by Richard
|
High Performance HVAC Air Conditioning & Heating HVAC Problems and Advice
Finding a Good HVAC Company for all Your HVAC Needs
How to Find a Good HVAC Contractor or HVAC Service Company
Finding a good honest and reliable HVAC Contractor or HVAC Service Company that will take care of all your HVAC needs doesn’t have to be a challenge. There are plenty of good quality HVAC companies out there competing for your business. If you apply common sense, do a little footwork, and use a method (perhaps the method described here) you will most likely find a good HVAC contractor who can provide excellent HVAC installation and HVAC service for many years to come. Here are some common sense things to use and consider when seeking out a good HVAC Contractor or HVAC Service company:
- Many good HVAC contractors and HVAC service companies get much of their business by word of mouth. It is a given that if you ask many friends and family and you get the same name twice you may have a good HVAC company to deal with. Plus if you tell this HVAC company, when you call them, that you heard about their HVAC services through family and friends they will want to please you because if they do not then they may lose more than just your business but also the business of those who recommended them to you. I work a fulltime job and do HVAC service on the side after work and on the weekends. All of my business comes from word of mouth and I have more HVAC work than I can handle because the people know I give them good, quality HVAC service when they call me. I’ve raised my rates and become more selective for two reasons: One I want to have a life and not work all the time and two I know my service and installation is above par and these people who call me for HVAC service will be hard pressed to find anyone else better.
- Make sure the contractor has insurance and workers compensation and/or is bonded for accidents which do occur on the job sometimes. Accidents which involve physical injury are covered under insurance and workers compensation but other accidents which cause property damage occur and needs to be addressed. A good contractor will always have these types of insurance and this will save you from a claim to your homeowners insurance if something were to happen.
- Finding a good HVAC contractor should always include checking the better business bureau and the local or State board of contractors. Many of these agencies and checks of contractors can now be done online. You may be surprised especially when you check for some of the contractors who advertise heavily in the local market. Not all contractors who advertise heavily in the local market will have negative reports from these sources. Actually, even good, quality HVAC contractors get a negative report from someone every now and then. It is very difficult to please every single person and some people can never be pleased. Another source to check for finding a good HVAC contractor, once you get a name, is the local mechanical inspection office for your municipality. The mechanical inspectors inspect the work of the HVAC contractors every day and they know the HVAC contractors who do great work from the HVAC contractors who do shoddy work.
- Finding a good HVAC contractor can also include checking HVAC manufacturer’s websites. These websites usually include a search feature so you can search for a local dealer or HVAC contractor. Many HVAC manufacturers require their contractors to send their technicians to factory training classes. This is important to you especially if this HVAC contractor is going to be installing or servicing this type of HVAC equipment. This means that you will get an HVAC technician who is familiar with the equipment and has had specific training for the particular manufacturers HVAC equipment. It also means the when the HVAC technician runs into a problem which he cannot solve the HVAC technician can call a technical support representative from the HVAC equipment manufacturer to get a solution or help. Having an HVAC company who is backed up by the HVAC manufacturer gives you extra back up for hard to solve problems. If the problem is a very frustrating problem some manufacturers will send an engineer from the HVAC manufacturer to your home to resolve the problem.
- You can also check professional organizations to see if the contractor is a member. Organizations such a SMACNA (Sheet metal and Air Conditioning Contractors National Association), ARI (Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute), ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air Conditioning Engineers), ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors Association) are all reputable organizations and membership in these organizations means that the contractor is knowledgable in their trade and business.
- If you are looking for a new HVAC system for your home or business find an HVAC contractor who gets a permit to complete the job. Mechanical permits and sometimes electrical permits are required on many jobs where HVAC equipment is replaced. Why do you want to use an HVAC contractor who gets permits for replacing HVAC equipment? Because it covers you for safety and insurance reasons and a local HVAC mechanical inspector will inspect the work to make sure it is done by code and by the HVAC manufacturer’s guidelines. In general, mechanical inspectors usually have extensive HVAC field experience or extensive training in mechanical code. The check to ensure the HVAC job is done by the mechanical code which is a very good guideline for safety and safe HVAC installation. If something were to happen because of the installation and homeowners insurance company found out the job was not inspected by an HVAC mechanical inspector they may not pay. Always use an HVAC contractor who gets inspection for replacing HVAC equipment. If you look through the pictures in one of our HVAC photo albums you will some equipment which has been installed improperly. Some of these HVAC pictures were taken by a friend of mine who is a mechanical inspector and the HVAC pictures demonstrate to you the necessity of getting an HVAC mechanical inspection for your HVAC installation job. Even when some HVAC companies get permits for HVAC mechanical inspections they still do not get the job done correctly. It has happened to me before on installation jobs where I forgot one little thing and the HVAC mechanical inspector comes behind me and corrects. Even the best miss things sometimes.
- If you are looking to replace equipment find an HVAC contractor who will do a load calculation for your new system. Some HVAC contractors never do a load calculation. Instead they use a rule of thumb for sizing the equipment or worse they simply install new HVAC equipment which is the same size as the old HVAC equipment. It is important to have a new load calculation done for the new HVAC equipment simply because the house or dwelling has changed since the old equipment was installed. Besides, how do you know when the old HVAC equipment was installed that a load calculation was done to determine the precise size of the HVAC system? This is very important because an HVAC system that is too small will never satisfy the load and a system which is too big will short cycle and cause other secondary problems. Efficiency will suffer if the HVAC equipment is not sized correctly also. In residential make sure they do a Manual “J” load calculation for equipment sizing and a Manual “D” for sizing duct work and for commercial they should do a Manual “N” load calculation. This is very important and good and properly sized system will save you money over the long term so make sure to get an HVAC contractor who does load calculations.
- For finding an HVAC contractor for HVAC service you want to make sure they have an on call service after hours. Many companies do this but they charge overtime or an inflated rate for work outside of normal hours. This is justified as many HVAC companies have a limited number of technicians and running on call can be a serious hassle so to limit the calls the charge extra. It is important to you because if your heat goes out on the coldest day of the year you want to make sure you get a reliable company who take care of you in a reasonable amount of time. If you have a relationship with a good HVAC company then chances are they will put you at the top of the list. Regular customers usually get priority.
Quality of workmanship should be at the top of the list for selecting a contractor. Many people select a contractor based on price and this can be harmful to them for the future. A good quality job for HVAC installation and repairs can save you lots of money in energy costs in the future. A lot more than if you just went with the lowest bidder or lowest price per hour for HVAC service.
Other resources for finding a good HVAC contractor include using a service like Angie's List or QualitySmith. Angie's List has lists of contractors from various trades including HVAC and how Angies List users rated the service and insulation the contractor offered the consumer. QualitySmith prescreens contractors for license information and other factors. With QualitySmith you can fill out one form and receive three free estimates for various services including HVAC. Finding a good HVAC contractor can be easy or it can be a nightmare. Make it easy and use all available resources to find a good HVAC contractor.
These are some of the highlights you can use to find a good HVAC contractor for HVAC service or HVAC installation. If you have any other suggestions don’t hesitate to email these suggestions to High Performance HVAC using our contact page.
High Performance HVAC: Your Resource for good HVAC Advice!
Trackback(0)
 |
@hvacperformance
Ask Mr HVAC 
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Until now, we had to buy Natl.comfort's 10 seer units that were meant to be in the wall......
Please tell me what the future is for this product, we were told it can't be manufactured anymore, because of the 410A refrigerant will need a slightly bigger version; our hot air/gas furnaces may bot be good enough (coils) to handle the pressure.
A very big problem that has to be solved. C.Forst