Here it is folks, if you are reading this then you obviously are the type who shops around… GOOD! You should! You’ve probably seen lots of advertising on well known companies bombarding you with “SALES” and “Money saving credits” well here’s the skinny on that… While we all know sales are what we want, it’s not necessarily what we get. Truth being told things are marked up so much out there that you are already paying way over then what the cost of the equipment is actually worth. “Huh” You say, well, EXAMPLE…  A furnace costing somewhere around $800 dollars, some miscellaneous items including sheet metal ducting, electrical fittings, gas fittings etc, etc, and labor you should only have to pay somewhere in the ballpark around $1500. Now keep in mind to be fair that all applications vary, depending on customer model preference, square footage of home/heating btu needs and labor difficulty, but that is ball park. Now I ask where do a lot of companies figure out with $3,300? I’ll tell you where… They are marked up!!  Simply to pay for the companies advertising costs & the fact that they employ anywhere from 10 to 50 employees, some companies more! They have to keep all these guys working, which were not against but who ends up paying? YOU!

Don’t be fooled by warranty agreements too!  All equipment manufacturers offer coverage on properly installed equipment should something breakdown.  However if they are not properly installed due to technician error your equip. might fail prematurely. As a consumer ask to see an EPA certification card! Especially when they are installing a new air conditioning unit which are a lot more technical than a furnace install. It is your right as a homeowner!  Especially when they want you to dish out  $3,300 dollars, now that price isn’t only not ballpark that it’s not even in the park your talking sky high!! Also warranty agreements also fall into the properly installed category, if they have been properly installed, then you should not need an agreement although a yearly tune-up inspection Is recommended.

Ah the tune-up special, here we go… Again some companies claim you are getting a 20 point 30 point or I’ve even seen ads for a 40 POINT TUNE-UP! WOW! I’m going to share a secret no heating & cooling company wants me to divulge.

A tune-up is an inspection and cleaning!!  It should consist of using an electrical metering device to determine if all electrically dependant components are bad or going bad, which would each individually draw different amperage, ohm or millivolt. Also detect safety hazards such as combustion gases and carbon monoxide leaks, A cleaning of all components, gas burners, flue pipe and filters if you have not already done so. Sanding down your flame sensor with steel wool which if dirty will cause a flame rollout, using an inspection camera on your heat exchanger, looking for cracks which would lead to toxic flue gases escaping into the air you breathe. Of course all furnace models are different 80% to 90% etc. but those are pretty much the mainstays of an Inspection/tune-up. The rest of their claims are just technical jargon to throw you a curve ball. Don’t be fooled!! Although some situations require a little more, these are the basics… If they are going to perform a 20 POINT inspection, make sure you stick around to witness all 20 POINTS!!