Most people have had a time when they woke up to a freezing home, or one that was sweltering hot. The culprit is your air conditioner or furnace not working. The first thing you do is check the fuse box to make sure that the fuses are working by turning them off, then back on at the breaker box. Still nothing! So, you call your AC-Heating repair company to come and check it out. Most of these companies will charge you just to come and look at the culprit and then charge you so much an hour. You can rack up a hundred dollars before you even know what is wrong with it.
Once they find out what is wrong with the air conditioner or furnace, they will tell you how much parts and labor will cost. There goes more money! But, would it be better to replace than repair? To replace the unit, think of the age and if the air conditioner is over 15 years old and the furnace is over 20 years old. Maybe it would be smarter to replace instead of repair. When you ask the technician, you are hoping that they are telling you the truth. If you are dealing with some company that you have never dealt with before, you have the choice to have the AC-Heating repair work done or get another opinion. That would cost more money again.
If you are trying to find a technician to fix your air conditioner or furnace for the first time, you can ask friends and family whom they use. If there is no one to ask for a referral then you can find one in the yellow pages or in your local newspaper. Here are a few things that you should know before you hire a technician.
- Check their ratings and reviews online if they have a website.
- When you call the company, ask the employee a few general questions about their business practices.
- Make sure that the company has a current license and certification for this type of work.
- Make sure that the company has insurance.
- Check their qualifications, service guarantees, and product guarantees.
- Ask if their contractors get a commission on the products they sell. If it is yes, then they are more likely to recommend a new air conditioner or furnace instead of trying to fix the problem.
These are just a few of the things that you should know before hiring anyone to do the work on your air conditioner or furnace. To prevent costly maintenance repairs, have a yearly preventive checkup done on your air conditioner or furnace by a professional technician. If you do this, then it will save you from having a costly AC-Heating repair.
There are many factors to consider before choosing a technician for AC-Heating repair. The main factor to consider is the license and certification. If they do not have a current certification and license, then it would be wise not to hire them.
