Pity homeowners who are seeking to replace their existing heating or cooling equipment. As an industry, we’ve done a good job promoting high-efficiency equipment, but we haven’t done enough to ensure these new systems actually perform as advertised. Yeah, it likely blows warm or cool air, and it most likely will perform better than the one it has just replaced.
Homeowners may even have engaged a utility program that offered a rebate for buying an Energy Star-qualified system. Our homeowners will hope that the $8,000-plus they spent on new HVAC systems will reduce their energy bills. But, to be honest, HVAC technicians are often too busy to check the performance of the system, even if they know how. And the homeowner will be stuck with poor comfort, ongoing maintenance, and high utility bills. It’s just not fair, and it’s not necessary.