11 Red Flags When Buying a New HVAC System (2022)
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- Опубликовано: 21 июл 2024
- Can you see the red flags when buying a new HVAC system for your home? Making this expensive purchase in is tough enough without all of the salespeople trying to make their commissions and all the other misinformation out there on the internet. Today I wanted to highlight 11 red flags you should watch out for when buying a new system.
The 11 things I discuss in this video that you should keep an eye out for when buying a new hvac system are:
1. Buying the right HVAC system
2. Buyin the right technology for your situation
3. Choose the right brand for your home
4. Choose the right contractor to install it
5. Check their referances and reviews
6. Don't use the big HVAC companies in town
7. Licensing, Bonds, Insurance
8. A contract should be in place
9. Will your contractor pull the permit?
10. Maintenance plans should be offered
11. Warranties on New HVAC Systems
As someone in the field for a long time, I think it’s important to share with you some of the red flags I see other companies do to their customers. Hopefully, you’ll consider these bits of information, and it helps you with some questions you have when buying your next HVAC system.
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I share your videos all the time on my Facebook feed. Its great information and general knowledge for all home owners, explained so "non HVAC" folk can understand it. Well done
So nice of you!
Hey When I was renovating my house I removed boiler which I was going to upgrade new to just a horizontal furnace AC system in a open area larger than crawl space up on 2nd floor of my 900 square foot Cape Cod. The house is quite insulated and system is 75,000 btu with 2 ton AC. It’s working out very good. The guy did all estimate calculations. All metal duct insulation wrapped. The first thing he said was correct sizing duct work. Nice tutorial
Undersized duct work gets overlooked as well. Taking e.s.p. readings and measuring total airflow goes a long way. The installation matters most, not the equipment. Thanks for sharing. 🤜🤛
Absolutely. Poor duct system=poor system performance. In fact more energy use with a newer system vs. an older system.
Great info. Thank you.
Some additional comments: A red flag for me is seeing the proposal with several thousands of dollar discount if you sign today! Saw this recently after getting 4 quotes for a new HVAC system. The highly discounted quote was still $3,000 higher than the other three companies for the same make/model equipment! Also received a proposal missing pricing for a new water heater which was discussed in detail. If you can't put together a complete proposal then you do not get my business. If you trash talk a competitor then you do not get my business. Speaks volumes about your character and business.
Yeah that's really ridiculous
100% correct brotha, we get underbid all the time from a 2 local companies in Dallas down south side but never pull a permit and guess what, we are out there 2 years later cause they only gave a 1 year labor warranty, shameful but people think saving money up front is good but noo. And what sucks more is thet try to blame us when we didn't even install it
Right. So many stories just like that everywhere. Thanks for sharing.
I offer JB warranty and I don’t charge anything more then what JB sells it for when I install a new system. Because I believe a new system should have both parts and labor warranty’s. I really like the honest advice you give to your customers. This is exactly how I run my hvac business I give lots of options from our best inverter system to a single stage contractor grade . I also ask if they have spoken with another AC business and if so did they Measure the house , windows and doors . When they tell me no I tell them the EPA suggests you don’t use a contractor that doesn’t preform a manual J8 ACCA approved heat load calculation for the envelope of the house.
We’re is your business located?
What are some other red flags you can think of that people should pay attention to when they buy a new HVAC system?
2 year labor warranty is pretty standard in the Houston area. Most offer 1 year. A good company will offer a longer labor warranty (10years) for 1k or less on top of the estimate
Two years are almost $2,000
I got a quote from a big company, around $20k-$25k. And then asked a bunch of small family owned companies, and the quotes dropped to $11k-$14k. I ended up going with the $14k quote.
I realize when I had a system replace a year ago none of the things you said a contractor should do, was done and that’s why my unit didn’t work properly from day one. And the owner couldn’t get his installers to come back 3 days later to see what was wrong with my unit, I had to run my heat on emergency heat all last winter 🤦🏽♀️ and it cost me
100% sales commissioned "technicians" are the first red flag. Getting passed over to a "call by call" manager if you wan't to think about it. A "call by call manager" is basically like a manager at a car dealership. The "technician" must make a call by call phone call to this manager to pressure you into doing a deal today. Discounts, we only have a few of these units left, or FUDD (fear, uncertainty, doubt and despair) conversations about not acting today and having your unit go down in summer. Ask your "tech" how he's paid and how long he's been doing this. If you smell one hint of a lie, tell him to leave before allowing him to touch your equipment. Take charge.
Advertisements, especially television are very expensive. Large companies flood the market with their ads and their prices reflect that. They also try to talk you into unneeded items to pay for that. It all gets passed on to the consumer.
Mostly good advice. A 13 page HVAC contract to me is a red flag. Let’s see, I now need a lawyer to ok the contract. Also the maintenance fee is just another way to continue to pay thru the nose for maintenance that a normal capable home owner can perform!
This was very helpful and informative. My AC just went out and Im looking to purchase a new system and comparing 2 proposals
Got several bids for a replacement system in the Dallas area, one of the biggest ac companies sales guy came out and going through the cost he says there is a 16 year warranty, I looked at him and said the manufacturer covers 10 years, who covers the extra 6, he said ac company name; I asked him if that is why he added several thousand to the bid. I have 30+ years in construction and built my own house, the sales guy did not like me when he left my house.
Next time I’ll probably just go with a basic system, because installers just don’t know how to set things up properly on 2 stage variable speed equipment. They just leave everything set at factory settings. The blower speed on Lennox gas furnaces is factory set on high (2000 cfm) for cooling and medium for heating. After two years of me complaining, my HVAC company finally sent over an air flow analysis guy to properly program my gas furnace to put out the right amount of CFM. I am in Phoenix AZ. I have a 1644 square-foot house with a 4 ton unit and he set the CFM at 1635 for cooling and 1625 for heating. He balanced out the airflow using dampers on the supply Plenum box, and also installed four new adjustable registers to help with balancing. He went room to room using an Alnor balometer to verify each room was getting approximately one CFM per square foot and also making sure the temperature drop was around 20° in the summer. It cost me $100 for the service. Money well spent. I feel like the service should be part of the initial set up.
#1 sizing the ac for new building not the same as replacing a system. Unless the original home builder did not design it right. Right? Taking account the age of the home and insulation deterioration. You have to either fix the insulation first. Or bump up the tonnage that means chances of short cycling.
Wow, good video, but tone down the purple a notch or two. One more thing, you left out testing the old system, if it is working, and testing out the new system to show that it actually is not just running but performing. Keep up the good work, and don't forget to have your guys take the NATE classes at PG&E the next three weeks. Got to keep those NATE certifications current!
Thanks Mitch. Yeah working on a new studio at my house. So dialing in the lighting. Some say they really like it. But I guess not everyone. 😊
@@foxfamilyheatingandaircond4696 With the shirt you had on and the purple was just a little much. Maybe, you could do a little contrast with different colored shirt and maybe break up the background. However, the rest of the content was good.
Thank you!
Thank you so much I was just quoted $20,000 for a HAVC system without the quoter even coming out and looking at it, however, they did come out a while ago, and I just don't think that was fair. And when he came out he did not take measurements or say anything about a brand or any details like in this video. The name of the company is Chicago Maintenance, I truly appreciate this video, and do you guys have any contractors in Chicago.
Lol. I don't. Good luck to you though 😊
I just got a new furnace/AC and the company included 10yr labor warranty. Also gave me 4 different options for systems.
#6 got me. I had a 12 man crew do a full install and ductwork resize/rewrap in a day. I’m on the hook for double the average amount, but I do have a 10 year maintenance/replacement plan included. So far the room furthest from the furnace still mirrors outdoor temperatures. I was told that the existing ductwork and roof pitch do not have enough clearance for a scoop.
My only other option is to install my old 4 ton equipment way oversized for just one room. Get the new system balanced, or install a split.
This may seem odd, but my furthest room wasn't getting enough flow. One day I decided to run the AC without the filters for one cycle. It was like night and day in the furthest room. Turns out the filters were too restrictive. I got some with a lower merv rating, and I can comfortably use the furthest room during the summer.
some homes are so big they may need additional air ; such as mini split or smaller split system in place ?
Put in a in duct blower fan. I did this and problem solved.
@@SeanBaker i have opposite, furtherest is the coolest.
Biggest red flags are the tools. If you don't see a nitrogen bottle and a micron gauge, your getting a substandard install. Not to mention an overnight nitrogen pressure test.
I got a question maybe even possibly make a video I’m an hvac tech for a company and I’m trying to figure out if I want a heated diode or an infrared leak detector I use a heat diode right now and it worked really good but it gave out on me just trying to figure out which one I should get
ruclips.net/video/JbXxE-WlQdo/видео.html. Check out HVAC School. They have a couple good videos on this topic.
I purchase online and do my own installs in my rentals bypassing upwards of 5k profit for some dude in a big house driving a 100k dollar truck. That shit infuriates me as much as medical costs. Act broke yet making bank.
I like your videos and I have a question. My R22 units (3 ton and 4 ton) are 20 years old and have seen better days and need to be replaced. My question is, do the R410 systems provide the same heat extraction as the R22 units. We live in Houston TX and we like the indoor temperature at 68 degrees, the R22 units performed very well, will the R410 units perform the same way?
R410 is being phased out.
Bell Brothers just took advantage of my 80 year old mother who was suffering from an infection that caused her cognitive impairment. Not only did they sell her a new changeout that she did not need at all, but they charged her almost $25,000! For a single story, 1600 sq ft home! AND THEY TRICKED HER INTO FINANCING IT THROUGH THEM! She has perfect 80 year old lady credit but they got her to finance through themselves. No offer of rebates or incentives or anything.
I just realized this while my mom was in the hospital, in a coma, caused by the infection that was affecting he cognizant ability.
The HVAC the builder put in my house started having problems in 2 years. What a bunch of hacks
Wow. I just recently purchased an entirely new system. I thought I was doing my due diligence by taking my time, getting several estimates (5 to be exact) and only entertaining reputable companies with excellent reviews and not a single one of them ever mentioned the consideration of square footage, window infiltration or attic insulation.
They pretty much did what you mentioned in the video. They looked at the old unit and gave me estimates on a comparable new one.
I wish you luck! You'll need it!
i completely agree with you ! i see it everyday as i installer
That's like playing Russian Roulette!
Do you think it's safe to duplicate the size of original 45 yrs old heater, 42500 btu (34000) 1/6hp? I've gotten one pro who recommended a 70000 80% and next door the pro installed a 54000 80%. I don't know who to believe on sizing. The wall insulation is like R3
A good question to ask yourself is did the old heater keep up when you needed it to. Or did you ever feel like you needed more heat. It's pretty common to raise the temperature of you house 1-2 degrees every ten minutes. Too big of a system has its downfalls.
I just purchased a two-stage Amana furnace along with a single stage Amana AC, what are your thoughts on Amana?
good brand
Do mfg warrantees usually default to 5 yrs for a rental unit installation? Thx
No not necessarily. Original OWNER always gets the full warranty. Some states you have to register the equipment within a certain number of days from the install. But CA you don't have to register it at all. And still get the max warranty.
Agreed on everything, except "big companies are bad and expensive". Big usually means they do a lot of volume and they got there because of being efficient.
But, you're paying for their overhead, like a big dog. See above: big guys was LITERALLY twice as much as a competitor for the same equipment.
Found this to be so true! All that big fancy trucks and big overhead. But also definitely shop around for the small business as some of them are worse
The biggest, flashiest, best-known HVAC company in your area is NOT going to be the cheapest...guaranteed. When we replaced ours in May 2022, the big guys in our area wanted exactly TWICE what the smaller, more efficient, more practical, more down-to-earth company wanted, for the exactly same products. That's overhead you're paying for, pure and simple. We couldn't be more happy with our ($10K versus $21K ) decision.
@@visualverbs sucks that that’s happening to you. It definitely seems like a problem in your area. As a hvac tech myself i hear stories of how other cities hvac companies work and it seems like they want to rob you for all you got. But in my area the smaller companies will definitely do it for cheaper but will go and replace the unit with the same sized one you have with out taking duct sizing, windows, size of the house, ect. But the larger ones would go out and size everything to what you need. Ive worked for many small mom and pop operations and i can tell you with out a doubt (in my area) the larger companies are spending lots of money to send their employees to classes to boost their knowledge in this field. The smaller ones only send tech’s if they are required by state to keep their license. So you can either look at it as “ohh im just paying for your overhead” but in reality you’re probably paying more because the companies pay more to educate their techs.
Again this only really applies to my area and how I’ve come to understand the pricing differences. But if i where you id pay attention to what they do to figure out the sizing of your system. And for 21k they better have offered you a communicating high seer heat-pump, with duel fuel furnace, and damper controls, and the furnace better be multi staging. And your ductwork better look like they used a protractor to put it up.
Great video!!! I love number 6!! fueling the wealth that's all we do!! everything we buy we're fueling a CEO or manager or White collar how is that legal?!?!??
I have no problems with anything on this list. 13 pages of contract seems crazy to me, but so does most everything else I hear about California. 13 pages is not the average nation wide, but always have some kind of written contract in place.
thanks for the feedback TJ! And yes, CA is a bit excessive.
5 to 10 year labor warranty on a system? That is so freaking bogus. To afford that on these higher SEER systems that leak like crazy either you'd have to charge a lot extra on the initial install, or eat a bunch of manufacturer mistakes.
This^^^^
Agree
Agreed. 1 year warranty..
As a consumer who had 7 estimates within the last one month with NONE of them offering more than 1 year maintenance agreement, I wondered whether this was a huge ask.
BINGO!!!! 👍👍👍
Too bad your in Sacramento I would hire your service in a minute seems that you have excellent work ethics very hard to find.
You seem to be one of the really good contractors. Sadly, in my area (Los Angeles), a very high percentage (70-80% maybe) are either incompetent or fraudulent. I have gone through 5 contractors so far for adding to or replacing my existing gas furnace with a central heat pump system. Every one has exhibited more than a few of your red flags. BTW: Here's another red flag you should add: installer technicians who act as aggressive salesmen.
PS: If any one knows of a really good HVAC contractor in the Beach Cities of LA (Manhattan Beach, Hermosa, Redondo) please advise.
Wishing you serviced Tehachapi area...
I'm kind of worried that I'm about to be scammed. Deal seems fantastic, but there's no contract, just a job proposal sheet. They're taking payment over the phone, no kind of invoice system. Can't find many install reviews for the local branch. Idk, I guess we'll see what happens.
How’d it go?
@@modernlunacy4341 Fine. I just called them out a couple weeks ago for service but the refilled the system at no charge and we're back to normal. Hopefully I don't need a yearly recharge.
Looking for quote to install an entire new system. 24000 is the minimum I got. 2700 sq foot home. Does that sound reasonable? It’s Lennox from Costco
Are you just changing out the split system or is more work being done?
thats reasonable, what is the system how many seer and single or two stage?
Here in the northeast, i just received 5 quotes from 5 different companies to change my whole system since the old one died. That included condenser unit, new air handler and new hydrocoil. They all have 1 year warranty.
You are getting skipped. 10yr standard manufacture warranty standard in industry
@@markbarnard3340 I should correct this. the contractor's warranty is 1 year. The manufacturers stay the same between 10-12 years parts. Should contractor give more than 1 year on their end?
@@optimusprime1634 thats something you would have to negotiate, my hvac guy gave me 2 year labor
I definitely went with the biggest company. I was not gonna go with anyone who couldn't give my 24/7 year round service. 🤷🏾♂️
There are other mid range cos. that provide 24/7 service at fair rates! Largest cos. have higher expenditures too!
Big companies have a lot of good techs and also a lot of bad techs and hopefully you get a good one.
Customer says they had no problem cooling thier house for last 20 yrs with thier 4 ton unit.
I'm going to replace with same capacity unit!
Attic and wall insulations may have diminished or trees no longer shedding the building could cause different heat loads!
I have to agree with George even though i'd still check airflow.
Ha! I can hardly get a quote for 2 years labor warranty! Most are quoting 1 year!
Bigger companies = chances are they will be around when the equipment needs to be serviced, they offer maintenance plans. Joes heatem and cheatem change there business name and phone number every 2-3 years. I know where I would prefer to spend my money.
A red flag for me would be a proposal indicating the "re-use" of the existing line-set.
Why?
Not so. Line sets cannot always be easily changed. Careful line set flushing is recommended. Few will take the time to clean a line set.
@@nicolasroselli6952 The word that stands out to me, here, is "easily".
1 company offer warranty but I have to pay for it. For 5 years is $300 and for 10 years is $600 a month... Is that good Question of the day
$ 300 per year not per month! Better ask that question!
stats: btu 37500 cooling 30000 seer 14 equipment suggested 3.5 ton Goodman GSX160241F with a 1yr guarantee for all equipment and 5yrs for compressors. Does this sound like a hustle?
I dont no about a hustle,or if the equipment sized properly without knowing the paticulars of your house,but i install alot of goodmans and as long as you register them on-line with manufacturer,they come with 10 year warranty on compressor and coils
Something must be off if they are reducing the warranty then...either install wrong for house or installer not standing behind the labour or the manufacturer..anyway thanks for repky. I made a different decision.
@@cardsfan-ym1bj Curious as to how much you would expect a ballpark quote for that to be? prize goes to nearest guess for my quote with 7 new vents? empty property bare to studs?
I have a 688 square ft home and they want $15500 for 21 seer Carrier Infinity .
My home heats right up and cools right down bc it's so small .
I don't find anything this expensive elsewhere .
Is it 3 x the cost it should be ? Thanks
You’re better off getting g either a window unit or “portable” ACs at that square footage.
Carrier infinity is the top of the line equipment all inverter and variable speed. Most likely offered a 2 ton system. Yes those systems are $10-20k
If a company comes to my house and tells me I’ve got a 3 ton 60,000 BTU system, I’ll just ask them nicely to get back in the truck and drive off.
It cost money and time to do all of those items, post videos, drive a nice reliable and well stocked vehicle. If you are doing all of those items in California, want to make $50-60K personally before taxes, you definitely will not be in the low to middle price range. Actually, I provide for my family on that, I’d say it’s more like that big $100K needed out there.
I stay plenty busy with my business, taking care of existing systems. No way would I have time to worry about how everyone else is running theirs, let alone hours making/editing videos.
Maybe your gas furnace is 60K Btus?
3 tons is 36k btu not 60k
These jokers talking about heat btu's don't have a clue what they are talking about.
There are many good reasons some contractors don't want to pull permits. 1st and foremost, it's a time consuming operation. The cost of that time must be passed on to the consumer and makes the contractor less competitive in a very competitive situation. 2nd, many building departments are run by self appointed nazis who simply relish in giving people a hard time because they can. Building inspectors are like vampires, they can't mess with you unless you invite them in. The idea that the inspector is there to protect the consumer is a fantasy in many places. It's most often a municipal money racket. So now that your house has been "improved", your taxes can be increased. Better advice: Find a contractor you can trust by checking them out. Get and check several references. See how long they have been in business. Ask them what technical certifications they have. Ask how many years experience the lead technician that's doing you job has. And don't put much stock on whether they recommend you pull a permit or not.
Dalé. Another great and very informative vid. Tks 🇺🇸 ❤️ 🇨🇺 🦩 305 que calor coño.
Another red flag a big majority of the time. When the owner of the company CAN NOT ! even install or diagnose a problem on the system that they sell.
Higher is the cheapest guys and the owner cannot even train them to correct their actions because the owner is technically incompetent
Very true
You said it all ... owner sends his "crew" to do the install !!
@@williamcommander2695 I like it when I see the owner of the company even if only occasionally come out and get his hands dirty and do an install along with his crew especially if he has new hired employees so he can overlook the quality of his work and if he sees any mistakes he can train them and correct their ways if they picked up bad habits from another owner of a different company.
I worked for a company like this. He'd rush me through service calls and when I needed help, he'd just tell me to offer a new system
@@allanbrito13 unfortunate reality many contractors only learn by screwing over customers breaking things and selling what is not needed.
They do not know how to legitimately or honestly repair for sale what is needed to make money.
And often they worked under or besides somebody in the industry that taught them this way and they knew no better they had no example and they sometimes even legitimately believe this is the only way to make money in this business. And this is a sad state of the industry that makes everybody look bad.
And this type of attitude keeps getting passed down from one generation to the next.
#3,, there is NO so called PREMIUM BRAND, LOL, what ajoke that is, what really matters is the INSTALL QUALITY JOB!!! thats where its at PERIOD!! END OF STORY!
if you did listen to the end and stil want to hire a contractor not to install by yourself it is a red flag or a clear sign that there is something wrong with your sanity
The only HVAC system people should be buying is a heat pump.
Never warm enough in the winter.
No one wants to break out parts and labor.
Bigger companies = chances are they will be around when the equipment needs to be serviced, they offer maintenance plans. Joes heatem and cheatem change there business name and phone number every 2-3 years. I know where I would prefer to spend my money.