Your home’s cooling and heating systems are essential for your comfort and greatly affect long-term energy costs. A reputable HVAC professional can make all the difference in both. HVAC equipment may be the most complex systems you have in your home, and expertise is critical to get the best performance from it. So how do you find a reputable HVAC professional:
- Do some homework. All HVAC contractors in California must have a current license, along with active insurance and bonding policies.
- Consider the references. HVAC contractors have a high degree of accountability, but it’s always a good idea to check with several of the past customers first. Another way to verify the contractor’s competence is to ask if they’re NATE (North American Technician Excellence) certified, a status that a contractor can only earn by demonstrating the highest levels of customer service and technical expertise.
- Ask neighbors, relatives or friends for recommendations for a reputable HVAC professional with whom they’ve had a good experience.
- Have the contractor show you the Energy Star qualified products they have available. Appliances and upgrades sporting the Energy Star will exceed minimum energy-efficiency requirements while delivering quality performance.
- The contractor should be able to tell you about any government, utility or manufacturer incentives for installing high-efficiency equipment.
- Get technical. If you’re interviewing a contractor to install a new system, verify that they use Manuals J, D and S to decide what capacity and type of HVAC equipment to install in your home. If they don’t, you may be installing a system that’s the wrong size or not compatible with ductwork, driving up energy costs, reducing comfort, and lowering the system’s lifetime.
- Insist on detailed bids outlining all the costs associated with the new installation.
- Make sure the contract contains all the specifics about the equipment and services provided, including dates and costs.
- Download a copy of the Energy Star Guide to learn more about high-efficiency HVAC systems and installations. How your system is installed also makes a difference in performance.
- Share the information with others. Collectively, the saved energy can make a big impact on energy budgets and the health of the planet.
Donald P. Dick Air Conditioning is a reputable HVAC professional in the Fresno area, and we’re confident we’ll provide satisfactory answers to all of your questions. To learn more, please feel free to contact us today.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the greater Fresno, California area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about reputable HVAC professionals and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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