If a certified technician arrives to service or replace your home’s air-conditioning or heating units, it’s a good opportunity to ask a few important HVAC questions. While you may be familiar with the name brand of the heating and cooling units and the basics of how to operate them, other details of installation, repair, maintenance, and ownership of HVAC components are matters that you may want to validate before the work begins.

Any experienced technician is accustomed to encountering a variety of important HVAC questions and is prepared to provide answers. Take the opportunity to bring up any related subjects you might want to know more about. Here are a few suggestions about the most important HVAC questions to ask:

• Are you certified and insured? A genuine, qualified technician will hold industry-recognized certifications that confirm both formal training and real experience on the job. Any legitimate, reputable HVAC contractor should be bonded and insured and, in North Carolina, also registered with the state.
• Are new HVAC components properly sized? HVAC sizing refers to matching the BTU capacity of a specific unit to the size and thermal characteristics of the house. The process ensures that the new AC or furnace keeps the house comfortably cool or warm while also operating at maximum efficiency to keep monthly costs low. Simply replacing a worn-out unit without performing a sizing calculation is not a professional installation.
• Do I really need a maintenance contract? Proper maintenance of heating and cooling components ensures reliability and optimum performance and efficiency. It also allows a qualified professional technician the opportunity to inspect all aspects of the system and detect incipient problems before they become a major issue later in the season.
• What about the HVAC warranty? A technician can explain what the owner’s required to do to keep the manufacturer’s warranty valid. This can include registering a new unit in a certain time frame as well as scheduling regular maintenance.

For straightforward, accurate answers to important HVAC questions, talk to the pros at Jackson & Sons.