How to Choose a HVAC Contractor

So, you’ve decided to purchase a new Furnace? People do this all season and for many different reason.

They may be building a new house.

They may be selling their existing house, and the buyer may have asked that they upgrade the furnace as a condition of the sale.

Their existing furnace may be broken and beyond repair.

They may be upgrading their furnace as an investment to reduce their utility bills

No matter what your reason, choosing a new furnace can be an intimidating process. There are nearly 100 different brands, and thousands of different models on the market. There are budget models, fully featured models and high efficiency models. There are upflow, downflow and cross-flow models. How can you make an informed decision without going back to school to get a furnace PhD? To make matters worse, a furnace is a big-ticket item. You can expect to spend anywhere from $1000 to $15000 or more by the time your new furnace is installed and working. And, you can expect to enjoy (or resent!) your furnace for the next 25 years or more!

Many people deal with this decision by simply placing all of the choices in someone else’s hands — they open the yellow pages, call the first Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) contractor in the book, and ask them to replace their furnace. And, provided you find a reputable HVAC contractor on your first call, this can greatly simplify the process.  I’m going to give you an overview of how the HVAC market works, and how to identify reputable HVAC contractors.

HOW THE HVAC MARKET

Upgrading or installing a new furnace is not a do-it-yourself project.  You will need the help of a fully qualified and lisence HVAC contractor. A tipcail job will go something as this.

1. You identify and contact several HVAC contractors
2. You set up an appointment with each of them to visit your home. You should not be charged for this initial appointment. At the appointment, they will inspect your existing furnace, and collect a wide range of information about your home — how many windows it has, which direction they face, how thorough is its insulation, etc. The contractor uses all of this information to calculate the load — the correct capacity for the furnace that they would install.
3. You should receive a written estimate from each contractor. Make sure that the estimate breaks out the different charges that the contractor expects to encounter — i.e. how much will the furnace itself cost? How much in labor? Do they recommend work on your home’s ducts? Are they pully Permits?
4. If one of the contractors submits a bid that is dramatically different from the other bids, don’t be shy about asking the contractor to explain the difference — they may have noticed something that the other contractors missed.

Some HVAC contractors and companies represent a single brand or furnace manufacturer. Hiring one of these contractors has advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, the contractor has probably gone through specialized training offered by the manufacturer. Should the job end badly, you may have additional leverage, since you may be able to approach the manufacturer with complaints. On the other hand, this contractor will only offer furnaces from this one manufacturer. If you get estimates from contractors that represent a single brand, make sure the get estimates from several contractors, and make sure they are recommending equivalent furnaces.