Ross and Witmer In a lot of ways, the heating and cooling equipment in your home is what allows it to function properly. This is why choosing a quality HVAC contractor to care for that equipment is such an important task. Here are a few things to keep in mind when searching for one:
- Don’t trust a price that seems too low. As most people can tell you, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If you’re starting a specific project and taking bids, be wary of a price that’s a good deal lower than the others. This may mean that the company will cut corners. Plus, ads for a very low price for services like a furnace tuneup of your equipment might be bad news as well, since there are a number of costs involved that are likely to be added on later.
- Don’t believe the “rule of thumb.” When you start looking for a new heating or cooling unit, one thing you’ll find is a sizing “rule of thumb” that equates to 400 square feet per ton of air conditioning. In other words, if your home is 2400 square feet, you would need a 6-ton A/C unit. However, this “rule” does not account for things like the number of windows and doors in your home, the types of appliances you have, etc. Proper sizing is done via a process called Manual J Engineering load calculation.
- Don’t accept quotes for a new unit over the phone. It would probably make searching for a new HVAC unit a lot easier if you could trust quotes over the phone. Unfortunately, this isn’t possible. There are too many factors, such as the physical space requirements and alterations made to the home, which make it impossible to provide consumers with an accurate quote over the phone. A visit to the home must be done.
If you need more assistance with choosing an HVAC contractor, or for other home comfort questions, get in touch with Ross & Witmer. We’ve been servicing the heating and cooling needs of Charlotte, Mecklenbug, Gaston, Union and surrounding areas since 1945.