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10 Heating and Cooling Misconceptions

#1 Size doesn't matter when it comes to installing a replacement air conditioner and furnace.

Heating and Cooling Fact - if the system is not properly sized for the house and USAGE it can be undersized or oversized.  An oversized system does not run long enough to remove the humidity in the summer allowing wet air to remain after the system shuts off creating mold and taking away from the homes comfort level.  An oversized system will short cycle turning off and on to meet the demands of the thermostat, but never properly tempering the air in the house to a level of comfort.  An oversized system can loose up to 52% of it's design operating efficiency costing more in additional utility cost each month and adding to unnecessary wear and tear to the system shortening it's life.

An undersized system will cover the non-peak days of winter and summer, but will be challenged to meet the peak days over 85 in the summer and below 20 in the winter.  These are the days when the system never seems to shut off in it's efforts to keep up with the thermostat adding to the cost of operating the system each month.  The utility company loves it when the meter spins all day long.  An undersized system can loose up to 40% of it's design efficiency when operating at peak periods of the season.

#2   All heating and cooling manufactures are the same.

Heating and Cooling Fact - although all heating and cooling systems are manufactured to the same ASH RAE specifications for the efficiency criteria, all manufactured products are not the same.  The components the manufacture uses when building the furnace and air conditioner are very important.  If a manufacture is trying to build a competitive system, they will use competitive components to cut their manufacturing cost to minimize the sales price to their dealers who then minimize costs to the homeowner who just bought a cheap system that will have a shorter and more expensive operating life.  The cheaper the components the more repairs that will be required for you the homeowner to pay.  Many manufactures will only have a 1 year parts warranty on their products putting the burden of repair on the buyer (homeowner) who has to keep the system running.  If you have a quality system built with quality parts you will have fewer repairs over the life cycle of the system improving the value of your investment.  Most quality minded service companies will have a quality warranty where you the homeowner are not paying for any repairs for longer periods of time.  Even quality components wear out over time and must be replaced.  It's just a matter of who pays for the repair and how many are required.

 #3 High efficiency heating and cooling systems are not worth the extra investment

Heating and Cooling Fact - the higher the efficiency of the system you buy, the higher the savings that may be available on your utility bills.  A properly installed and maintained system will return the expected savings with proper usage.  A system that is not installed correctly, used properly or  maintained will loose the design efficiency that was purchased and be a waste of money.  It is a simple matter of usage and maintenance after you make the investment and you will see a higher return in savings and feel the comfort in your home.

#4 Extended warranties are a waste of money.

Heating and Cooling Fact - the longer the warranty the better the value for the homeowner.  As heating and cooling systems become more technically complicated the more working parts and electrical controls will be required the more chance of a repair will be required.  Since you have a system that will be operating almost everyday in your home the likelihood of a repair exists.  It all gets down to who do you want to PAY for the repair.  The only time an extended warranty is a problem is when the installing contractor is too busy or has no desire to honor the warranty putting the problem back on the homeowner.  That's part of the "you will always get what you pay for" scenario.   An extended warranty is one of the key components of a value purchase of a heating and cooling system.  That is why we include parts and labor warranties at NO additional charge to you at time of purchase.

#5 Maintenance agreements are a waste of money.

Heating and Cooling Fact - 6 out of 10 emergency no heating or cooling calls are due to a lack of maintenance in the system.  Of the remaining 4 emergency calls 2 of them will be repairs for failures caused by lack of maintenance.  That leaves 2 out of 10 emergency calls as normal wear and tear.  That may be the reason most service companies DON'T and WON'T sell maintenance agreements, it cuts into the number of emergency service calls available to them.  We have clearly identified a drop in the quantity of emergency service calls from our maintenance agreement clients at any time of the season due to proper maintenance of their systems.  The real value of a maintenance agreement is the ability to bi-annually schedule your time when it's best for you to have a complete "Service and Safety Check" (SSC) done to keep your system running at peak performance in lieu of an emergency scheduling your time to solve a problem.  Maximizing the equipment life and increasing the value of your investment is just a bonus.

#6 The only maintenance I need is to change the filters.

Heating and Cooling Fact - changing the filters in your system by installing a proper filter will help minimize the dirt that may be circulating through your house and impacting in the evap coil and blower wheel located at the furnace.  Changing the filter only address 1 of 21 steps needed to properly maintain your heating and cooling system to maximize equipment life and minimize utility costs to operate the system.

#7 It's not worth finding the leak, just charge it up again this year.

Heating and Cooling Fact - many homeowners have refrigerant leaks in the cooling side of their system that will leak the refrigerant out over the winter requiring the system to be recharged before the next cooling season.  An under charged system can lose up to 12% of its efficiency as well as adding to the wear and tear factor of the system causing it to wear out faster adding repair costs to your investment in lieu of finding the leak, repairing it and charging the system once.  The cost of your heating and cooling system is your initial investment plus operating costs, maintenance costs and repairs to the system over the life of the unit.  Why would a homeowner want to increase their cost and reduce the value of their investment?  Locate the leak, repair it and charge the system once and save money across the board.

#8 As long as it's running it's okay.

Heating and Cooling Fact - one of the biggest misconceptions is "as long as its running, its okay".  Wrong.  Just because your system is running doesn't mean everything is okay.  Lack of maintenance creates 6 out of 10 emergency calls that come to our office.  2 out of those 10 emergency calls will require a repair from lack of maintenance.  Only 2 out of 10 emergency calls come from normal wear and tear.  So 8 out of 10 times when an emergency failure occurs, its from lack of effort to maintain the unit when it is running.  If its only a problem when the unit fails to run, then the best time to solve the problem is while its still running before it fails. 

#9 Some rooms are cold and some rooms are hot in my home, but that's true in every home.

Heating and Cooling Fact - there are many homes that have air flow problems only because they have not implemented solutions to solve the problem.  Most cold or hot rooms are created by lack of air flow or an unbalanced system in the home allowing some rooms to have too much air while others are starved for air.  Many times this is a simple problem that can be addressed by balancing the air flow through out the system.  Other times it may require dampers to be installed to control air flow.  Either way, air flow problems are a choice of the homeowner not the norm for a home. 

#10 There are no Indoor Air Quality problems in my home.

Heating and Cooling Fact - actually the reverse is true of all homes.  Which Indoor Air Quality problems does my home suffer with and of course anything that your home suffers with then your family also suffers from.  With our Indoor Air Analysis, we can provide a survey of IAQ problems that may need to be addressed in your home.  Have the quality of your homes air checked today.

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All worked performed per My Heating and Cooling Company's "Terms and Conditions" in designated service areas of the Metro East Area of Illinois. My Heating and Cooling Company is a division of Quick Fix Home Repair, Inc. and retains the right to accept or reject any work order or request for service received from this site based on availability of man power, materials and scope of work or as determined best for the owners and or their representatives. 

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