Taking care of your home’s HVAC system is an important job. While you might carry out routine maintenance yourself, there are times when you need to call in a professional. But how can you tell which company is the right one for you? Read on for our top 5 tips for choosing an HVAC company.
Recommendations
Friends and family can be a good source of recommendation. The best HVAC companies will have past customers who have left them reviews or are willing to speak to new customers and offer a reference. We share photos of recent projects, too.
If you have a Facebook group or similar for your local area, then it’s worth asking for the name of companies that others will recommend. You’ll usually hear a few names to avoid as well.
You can also check with the Better Business Bureau who can let you know if any complaints have been made about the firm, and if so what sort of complaints they were.
A Licensed HVAC Company
Depending on which state you live, in the requirements for licensing vary. In Delaware, an HVAC technician can have one of two types of license. A restricted license allows technicians to work on one specialty, for example, heating OR air conditioning.
In order to provide services in more than one area, the technician must hold a Master HVACR license. Understanding this will allow you to make sure that your HVAC repair is being carried out by a suitably qualified engineer.
You can also ask the company about the training that their staff have completed. If you hear that they are North American Technician Excellence registered then you can be sure that technician’s training us up to date.
Evaluation
If you call up a company to ask for a quote, and they want to give it to you over the phone? That’s a red flag. No reputable company will be comfortable talking about your project unless they’ve visited your home. To understand the work needed, the technician needs to see the system in situ, and assess the state of repair of the system.
After the visit, you should get a detailed, written estimate that will accurately explain what work needs to be done and what you can expect the costs to be.
Offers
HVAC repairs can be expensive, there’s no question about that. And if you see a company that is running an offer for a service or repair then you might be tempted to take them up on it. But before you do, just a word of caution: Sometimes offers are not all they seem.
Companies might offer incentives to have your work done during their quiet periods, and that’s fine. But other companies may give you a ‘discount’ only to increase the prices of parts or similar, so you end up paying more than you need to.
The Right Fit
Choosing the right HVAC company does take a little work, but making a mistake can be disastrous. A good firm will be happy to talk to you about their experience and licensing and to offer you references. If you’d like to talk to us about working on your property, please get in touch today.