The great part of working time and time again with a trusted HVAC company is feeling confident with the work being performed by the technicians. If you move out of town and have to find a new company, it can be a little intimidating. When looking for a new company try to get as many recommendations as possible. Scan the web for reviews or ask colleagues and neighbors who they would refer. Once you get a couple of referrals don’t hesitate to call the companies and decide if they are HVAC experts you want to employ.
Ask about their experience working with the same type of system you have. Enquire about how fast they respond to emergencies. Do they offer 24 hour care? Ask if their technicians are certified. Reputable companies will have nothing to hide and will not be offended by your questions.
If an HVAC company attempts to intimidate you with some HVAC talk, here is a brief summary of HVAC tech lingo! SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The higher the SEER the lower your power bill should be. Tonnage, an A/C ton is equal to 12,000 BTU’s an hour. Therefore, a 3 ton A/C can eliminate 36,000 BTU’s of heat in an hour from a building. AFUE stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency which is a great way to estimate the heat delivered by a unit for every dollar is spent on fuel.
A high AFUE means a low power bill. Understanding these terms makes you a seasoned HVAC customer. You will be able to better understand what is important when discussing buying a new unit, installing a new unit or upgrading to a different system with an HVAC expert.
