According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s consumer website, Energy Saver, two-thirds of all homes in the country have air conditioning. Air conditioners consume 5 percent of all electricity produced in the United States.
HVAC equipment uses a significant portion of your home’s energy bill every month. With the cost of energy on the increase year after year, it makes sense to do all that you can to make your air conditioner as energy-efficient as possible.
The best way to do this is to schedule regular maintenance for your equipment. Without regular maintenance, your system could steadily get less efficient until the unit possibly fails completely.
There are a number of routine checks that you can carry out on a regular basis to keep your system running smoothly. However, to ensure that your air conditioner is working at maximum efficiency, you need to call a professional service company to check out the entire system.
How To Select The Right Air Conditioning Company
There are seven critical questions that you should ask a company before making your choice.
1. Are You Licensed, Bonded, and Insured?
Writing for Bargaineering, Jim Wang gives a clear explanation of these terms. Air conditioning companies need to be licensed to conduct business in Nevada. The license is only issued to those businesses that are qualified and competent to carry out the work.
Being bonded means that the business has secured financial cover from a third party if a consumer files a claim against the company. An insured contractor has a cover for injury to any of its workers. Without this cover, the injured worker may claim against your homeowner’s insurance, which you want to avoid.
1. Can You Provide a Detailed Written Estimate?
A detailed written estimate will give you some level of protection against unscrupulous companies that end up billing you for work that they never performed. The estimate is not a quotation; it is not an exact price for the job, but it will give you a good idea of how much it will cost, and it will give the contractor the impression that you will keep a close eye on his work.
Asking for a detailed estimate will force the contractor to do a thorough inspection of your system to itemize everything that needs to be done. Any additional work not detailed in the written estimate must be discussed with you first before they proceed.
1. What Kind of Warranties and Guarantees Do You Offer?
Most service and repair companies will stick to the manufacturer’s warranty for equipment. However, when it comes to workmanship, a guarantee can vary widely from one company to the next. You need a reasonable guarantee period to protect you from paying additional costs if something goes wrong.
[company_name] offers a 12-month buy-back guarantee.
No matter what the issue is, whether you do not like your system, or if you don’t like our staff, if we can’t make the customer satisfied and the situation correct then we will buy the system back for the original price and uninstall the equipment. We will even help the homeowner coordinate with another contractor to install new equipment at a convenient time to reduce any inconvenience.
1. Do You Have References I Can Check Out?
It’s important that the company can supply you with real reviews and possibly the contact details of other customers that they’ve done work for. This enables you to check out their trustworthiness, timekeeping and quality of workmanship.
1. What Are the Qualifications/Credentials of the Installers Assigned to My Project?
Nevada state regulations require all air conditioning technicians to be licensed. Being certified means that the specialist has been tested for the skill set needed to be proficient in the installation and repair of air conditioners.
1. Are You Able to Show Me How You Can Reduce My Monthly Utility Costs?
Any professional air conditioning contractor should be able to tell you what measures they can take to reduce your monthly utility costs. If they really have your interests at heart, they will also tell you what checks you can do on a regular basis to keep your HVAC system running smoothly.
1. How Long Have You Been in Business?
This question will give you some indication of their competence. Air conditioning is a highly specialized market, and any dishonest operator with shoddy workmanship will not last long in the industry.
Be smart by asking the right questions before hiring a company. Get estimates in writing and never accept a verbal estimate alone.
Conduct some troubleshooting on your own to try and resolve the problem before you call a professional air conditioner company for help.
