There it is again. That knocking. Or banging. Or whining. Or, even worse, the dreaded sound of silence when your air conditioner or furnace is supposed to be running.
You can no longer keep moving “replace HVAC system” to the bottom of your to-do list – at least not if you want to stay comfortable in your house. It is time. And you do not feel the least bit ready.
Is it ever possible to replace your air conditioner, furnace or both without going into full-on stress mode? It is! We will show you how in this post.
Step 1: What worked and what didn’t work?
Step one won’t take you a long time, because you already know what worked well and what didn’t work about your current air conditioner and furnace.
So sit down and make two lists. One is “what worked.” Here you might add things like “kept bills reasonable,” “gave us six years of solid performance,” “was quiet.” etc.
Next make the list “what didn’t work.” Here you might jot down notes like “some rooms were always hotter or colder than others,” “didn’t do much for humidity,” “couldn’t keep up during the hottest/coldest days.”, “required too many furnace maintenance appointments.” etc.
These notes will drive your conversation with your Shipton’s HVAC technician regarding what you are looking for in your new HVAC unit.
Step 2: Decide what is getting replaced.
The hands-down hardest decision to make happens when only one HVAC component has failed.
Let’s say your air conditioner just died. It is still hot outside, which means it is still hot inside. You really need a new AC, and fast!
But you haven’t turned on your furnace since last March and you don’t really remember if it was working well at the time. You also don’t want to turn it on and find out, in the process making an already hot home even hotter.
So, okay, you will just replace the air conditioner. Seems easy, right?
Often it isn’t that simple. The truth is, today’s HVAC components are built to work in pairs.
In some cases, it may void the warranty to “mix and match” your air conditioner and furnace. In other cases, installation complications and cost increases may occur when two mis-matched components do not integrate easily.
This is where it often makes the smartest financial sense to replace both components at the same time….even if one component still has some useful life left in it.
How much is a new furnace and air conditioner? This is definitely something to discuss with your Shipton’s service technician, as they can provide you with a variety of options – including a COMBO AC and furnace install!
Rather than decide you are between a rock and a hard place, consider how a timely dual upgrade might boost efficiency, trim energy bills, clean up your indoor air and even put some money back in your pocket.
Step 3: Let’s go shopping!
Step three sounds fun….until you remember what you are shopping for. There is nothing glamorous or particularly enticing about shopping for heating and air conditioning equipment.
These are major purchases that will impact your life and your family’s comfort and health for, potentially, years to come.
With that daunting reminder out of the way, consider this: you are not just shopping for a new air conditioner and/or furnace.
You are also shopping for favourable repayment terms, a rock-solid manufacturer warranty and high-quality local maintenance and repair services.
You are shopping for the whole package.
This immediately trims your list of options. You are ONLY looking for HVAC equipment that comes with these three essentials.
In other words, you don’t want to have your new unit break down only to discover your warranty doesn’t cover it. You don’t want to have to wait weeks for a technician or have to deal with exchanging parts by mail and then hiring your own local technician and waiting to get reimbursed. Most of all, you don’t want to discover that the company you bought your units from has fled in the night or gone belly up!
How do you shop for these specific criteria? You start local and stay local. Who in your community sells HVAC appliances, installs them AND services the units they sell? What is their warranty like? What are their financing options?
Working backwards in this way, you identify who you will buy your new appliances from based on the whole package they are offering. You will likely end up with a list of three to five companies.
You can then give each a call, hear their recommendations and guidance, generate estimates to compare and contrast and make your final purchase decision.
Save Up to $2400 With Our Year-End Blowout HVAC Sale
Speaking of fantastic financing and local HVAC maintenance and installation, how would you like to save up to $2,400 on a new furnace and air conditioner combo unit? Or how about saving up to $800 on a new air conditioner or furnace?
Would you like to reap all the benefits of your new HVAC system without having to pay anything at all for six months?
Then we think you are going to love our end of season HVAC blowout sale. Get your new units now before your old system calls it quits for real.
Shipton’s Is Your Go-To HVAC Resource for Burlington, Oakville, Hamilton & Surrounding Areas
Shipton’s and our sister company CleanAir Solutions Hamilton are on speed dial for a growing number of homeowners and business owners in and around the Hamilton, Ontario area.
Why? We are there when you need us! Our popular 24/7 emergency repair service is on call for you nights, weekends and even major holidays. Our switchboard is always open to serve you. Our uniformed technicians are prompt, polite and highly trained to service all makes and models of HVAC equipment.
Give us a call at 1-905-549-4616 or visit us online to let us know how we can serve you best.
