Article written by-McMahon Stentoft

Maintaining your home's HVAC system is a major part of home ownership. That's why it's smart to hire a very skilled and professional HVAC contractor. The information shared here can help.

Look for deals and rebates on the HVAC system you are having installed. Many ENERGY STAR units come with huge rebates either from your local utility company or the government itself. Investigate your options as it could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars on the installation costs.

Before you hire an HVAC contractor, have some sort of idea of the work that needs to be done. A contractor cannot give an accurate estimate without looking at your system. It will be way more hard if you can't figure out what they need to do. This is information that you should have prepared in advance.

Don't get grass clippings on your outside unit. Make sure the grass does not get in your unit. This also applies when you blow leaves, so be very careful near your exterior HVAC units when you move debris.




If you want to turn off your air conditioning at night to save money, consider putting a standing fan next to your bed. You can set it to oscillate from your toes to your head, blowing cool air over your body and letting you sleep comfortably all night long.

When you have an outdoor unit, be sure to keep all plants, flowers, shrubs and trees at least two feet from it. Anything that grows inside it, either above the ground or even roots beneath the soil, can block it up and cause it to break. Give it some breathing room.

If you are going to be gone during the day or on vacation, turn the temperature up on your air conditioning unit. With the system off, the house will only heat up to a certain temperature. If it is on all day, it is trying to maintain a cool temperature constantly, using a great deal of electricity to fight the heat.

Save energy use and money by turning off the air conditioner if there is nobody home. The house will only heat to certain level and a decent HVAC system can quickly cool this down once you are home. If you leave it on all day, it's fighting the heat constantly, meaning it's using a lot of electricity to do its job.

Looking for an efficient way to cool your home? Consider installing a whole-house evaporative cooler. They use water to cool air instead of traditional chemical coolants, using a ton less energy to cool your home than those other units. That said, they do work best in dry climates and not at all in humid ones.

If you have a window air conditioner, be sure to check and see if it has an Energy Saver button. If so, use it! This turns off the fan when the unit isn't actually cooling the air, which can save you as much as 30 kwh over the period of a month!

Don't allow your home to overheat. Your average AC unit can only reduce the temperature in your home by about 20 degrees in a normal span of time. The temperature will only reduce to about 80 if your home heats up to 100 degrees. This is not a safe and comfortable temperature for you to sleep in.

If you have a window air conditioner, be sure to check and see if it has an Energy Saver button. If so, use it! This turns off the fan when the unit isn't actually cooling the air, which can save you as much as 30 kwh over the period of a month!

To help you pick a good HVAC contractor, be sure to research a number of different companies. Check with the BBB and look for reviews of potential companies online. Taking these steps will help ensure that you make a wise decision.

Keep your condensers free of nearby obstructions. Keep plants, fencing, even bushes back and away from the unit. Two feet is a good minimum distance it should have from anything, including walls, but the more space you give it to breathe, the better it will work and the less likely it will be to fail.

A great way to ensure that the HVAC professionals you hire are up to the task is to take steps to verify that they possess proper licensing and certification. Failing to check relevant internet page can cause you to hire someone who is more likely to do more harm than good and charge you a great deal of money along the way.

Check the licensing of any HVAC company that you plan to hire. Start by making sure they are fully licensed. They should be in compliance with your state's business laws. Good HVAC companies should be fully insured. This is to protect their company, their employees, and their customers should anything happen when they are performing a service at the home of a customer.

The one thing you should always do on a monthly basis is change the air filter on your HVAC system. It will improve the efficiency of your unit. It only costs a couple of bucks to replace the filter.

While it is common practice to negotiate a rate quoted by a contractor, you should not offer an amount that the contractor will find offensive. They have to pay for things like insurance and overhead costs. Keep Learn Even more in mind when you are trying to haggle with them for a better rate.

Any contractor that is giving you a quote should do a calculation on heat-loss. This will help determine the amount of BTUs you will need in your new system in order to keep the temperature in your home comfortable. This number comes after examining the windows and doors where heat and escape.

Consider which direction the air flows out of your air conditioner when you decide where to place it. If you have no choice but to put it in the corner, be sure to buy a unit which allows for the air flow direction to be changed away from the wall.

Would you know what to do if your air conditioner or furnace system were to fail just when you needed it most? As long as you have spent some time learning about what makes for a terrific HVAC service professional, you should answer in the affirmative. Keep the above advice handy, and you will never go wrong.