6 Warning Signs That Your HVAC Contractor is Not Being Diligent

Your HVAC contractor can make mistakes while installing, maintaining, or replacing your equipment. However, mistakes made by the AC technician won’t just affect your unit – it will also adversely impact your Bay Area utility bills. You pay your contractor because you can’t be expected to fix your AC on your own. This makes it vital that you look for signs that your contractor is being as diligent as they should be.

1. Not Understanding Combustion Safety

Most HVAC companies don’t change the batteries on the carbon monoxide alarm until they receive a call regarding CO poisoning. They only look for cracks in the furnace’s heat exchange since they don’t have adequate knowledge about combustion safety.

This is especially true in the case of combustion testing and back-drafting. Your contractor could be leaving a potentially dangerous situation at your house if they fail to test for flue gases.

2. Not Paying Enough Attention to Air Flow

You should have your ductwork replaced whenever you change the HVAC system. Most contractors lack professional skills to understand the small nature of duct systems. This can be because the existing ductwork is of an incorrect size. It can also be because of a leaky ductwork. Unfortunately, these problems can result in bigger, serious, and expensive issues down the line.

3. Not Identifying Opportunities for Increasing Performance

Your HVAC company probably visits multiple residential homes on a daily basis. They would be looking at attics, crawl spaces and basements for checking air sealing quality and insulation. They have necessary experience to advise homeowners on improving the performance of cooling and heating systems by ensuring proper insulation.

Most HVAC companies have comfort as part of their names, but don’t do much for addressing homeowner comfort. Your contractor should understand that all comfort issues cannot be addressed purely by mechanical systems.

4. Ignoring the HVAC System’s Ventilation Aspect

Blower door tests for the purpose of verification of air-tightness and air-sealing has made modern homes become tighter. This is usually done because energy codes call for it. Unfortunately, this has also led to the need for mechanical ventilation. Spot ventilation should be present in every bathroom and kitchen corner.

It is necessary that your HVAC contractor doesn’t overlook the ventilation aspect of your system. The technician should have adequate knowledge of ASHRAE 62.2. They should know the three components of mechanical ventilation – positive, negative, and balanced pressure.

5. Not Doing the Math

Most contractors rely on rule of thumb and experience to get the necessary results. Modern heating and cooling systems in houses are more innovative than they used to be. Every system and home are unique. This means that there is no one size fits all solution. Manual calculations are necessary these days for greater efficiency.

6. Not Providing Long Term Solutions

Quick fixes are literally quick. They are short term solutions that may end up costing more in the long run. HVAC contractors tend to hire poorly trained technicians. This is a way for them to cut down costs. They may also use poor equipment. Make sure the technician that comes to your house has adequate training and certifications. This will be useful in solving your problem in a timely and cost-effective manner.