Five Big Mistakes HVAC Contractors Should Not Be Making

1. Get precise measurements — Don’t just rely on a “what worked in the past” mentality when it comes to installing a home HVAC system. Make sure you’re measuring the entire house instead of spit-balling the measurements for the size of HVAC system a home needs. Every house, no matter how identical they may seem, is unique so a rule-of-thumb approach usually doesn’t work. For instance, if one home’s insulation meets industry standards while another doesn’t, they will have different levels of efficiency, thus each would require a different level of heating and cooling.

2. Testing for carbon monoxide Leaks — Believe it or not, not all HVAC contractors fully understand how a furnace’s combustion system works. When checking the carbon monoxide system, ensure you’re looking for more than just cracks in the heat exchanger. Keep an eye out for and test the flue gases as well as properly measure the system’s depressurization. If you don’t know much on the subject, be sure to get the proper training to avoid any potentially dangerous situations. The last thing you’ll want to find out is that the family you visited yesterday is in the hospital today because of carbon monoxide poisoning.

3. Understand the ‘house as a system’ concept — Many professional HVAC contractors fail to fully understand the ‘house as a system’ concept. As a trained and experienced technician, you’ve seen your fair share of problems and it’s more than often that multiple home issues can be narrowed down to one singular problem. When working for your client, put all the pieces of the puzzle together, and find the source.  This will not only show your expertise and experience in the field, but you’ll be showing the client that you’re giving them the best service you can give.

4. Bid appropriately — It’s a competitive market, we all get it. But be careful not to shoot yourself in the foot when bidding for a particular job. When you start bidding too low, you have to settle for low quality parts and technicians who are poorly trained. Unfortunately, many homeowners don’t live true to the saying “you get what you pay for” and end up seeing the results of a poorly completed job.  When that time comes, they’ll opt for the slightly more expensive service, and you can sweep them off their feet with a job well done, gaining a repetitive customer with word-of-mouth leads in the process.

5. Ventilation and air circulation — One common mistake most HVAC contractors make is that although they may get their heating and cooling correct, they fail to take into consideration the amount of ventilation that is required for a home to pass code. A proper ventilation system should not only encourage air circulation, but it should also balance the positive and negative air pressure. Without good circulation, a number of issues could arise including moisture damage; poor air quality inside the home; and a higher than normal energy consumption from the HVAC system, ultimately leading to a rise in the monthly energy bill.