To keep your home warm in winter and cool in summer, and to make sure fresh air circulates, it’s important that your home’s heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are kept in top shape.
Though there are some things a homeowner can do to help keep their HVAC systems running well, such as vacuuming air inlets and replacing filters, most jobs should be left to HVAC professionals.
However, choosing the right HVAC technician can be a challenge. Consider the following tips to help you decide which professional will be the best choice for your circumstance.
1. Research Companies
Rather than picking a company at random or trusting what an ad says, do your research. Ask friends and neighbors for recommendations on companies that they like. Your loved ones should give you honest advice. Also, you should check Yelp!, Angie’s List, or Google for unbiased reviews and ratings.
Once you’ve found some good leads, check the company’s Better Business Bureau profile for complaint records. Additionally, when you start talking to a company, ask them for HVAC technician tips and references. You can even ask the contractor to let you see examples of their work or references from past customers.
2. Meet the Contractor Face-to-Face
A company representative should be willing to visit your home before the work begins. This visit will give them an idea of what needs to be done and also provide you with an impression of the professional HVAC technician.
The representative should be well-informed, neat, and clean so you feel safe and comfortable. Furthermore, they should be able to address any questions you have with their HVAC expertise.
3. Check Licensing, Insurance, and Permitting
One of the first things you should ask the HVAC technician for is copies of their state licenses, proof of insurance, and workers’ compensation. This can bring assurance that the company has met the minimum required standards and that you’ll be protected should an accident or injury occur on the job. This is another reason why the cheapest company is not a good option—sometimes a low cost means these steps are skipped, leaving you vulnerable.
You should also check the building permit expectations in your county. We at Home Comfort Experts always pull permits for every air conditioner or furnace installed. This protects you and allows officials to inspect our work. Check if the company you are considering does the same.
4. Choose a Professional With Experience
Every home is different, so every HVAC installation is unique. The only way a professional HVAC technician learns how to handle the great variety of installation and maintenance demands is through years of experience on many different systems.
At Home Comfort Experts, even our newest technicians aren’t promoted beyond the helper stage for three to four years of hands-on shadowing with one of our most experienced techs. So, even our newest technicians give great service because they are associated with our company’s high standards and hours of training.
With long experience under the close guidance of a seasoned pro, each of our staff has seen hundreds of different systems before getting their hands on a single one. In fact, all of our technicians receive an additional 250 hours of classroom training each year.
5. Find a Business That Will Give Written Estimates and Sign a Contract With You
To ensure that companies are trustworthy, ask an HVAC expert for written estimates and a signed contract. No credible business will hesitate to give you a written estimate and sign a contract that includes the cost of materials and labor, start and completion dates, and payment schedules. Some people make it a policy to discard the highest and lowest bids, but we don’t recommend it.
If everyone who’s bidding on a project has been pre-screened according to the above recommendations, then even the lowest bid should be representative of professional quality work. The highest bid might provide the highest quality among several high-quality vendors or might include some worthwhile extras that the others didn’t include.
6. Look for After-Installation Support
Some HVAC companies offer deals on service contracts in connection with new installations. Under a service contract, like our Comfort Club, a technician will visit the home on a set schedule to check and troubleshoot the system. This is usually at a reduced cost and saves you money by keeping guarantees in place and systems working at top efficiency.
These service contracts also make the homeowner a priority in case of emergencies and may also provide discounts for services that are not covered by the agreement.
7. Be Prepared
Before choosing the right HVAC company, do a little work to help them help you. Make note of the exact issues you’re facing and describe exactly what the problem is to your professional. You should also jot down the make, model, and serial number of the HVAC system that’s not functioning properly, so the technicians can know how to move forward with their service.
Now that you know how to choose HVAC companies for your next job, reach out to our experienced technicians at Home Comfort Experts. We provide clear communication and upfront pricing to all of our customers in Indiana and Michigan, so you know exactly what will happen when you hire us.
Contact us today and let us know exactly what you need assistance with.