When purchasing your home, it’s strongly recommended that you thoroughly examine everything it has to offer, including the roof, siding, windows, deck, and even landscaping. This way, you can ensure that you’re indeed getting your money’s worth with the home you’re considering buying. However, according to AC replacement pros, when examining a potential home, there’s another thing that you should have examined: the HVAC unit.
If you’re seriously considering purchasing the home that you’re looking at, you should take a good look at the HVAC unit installed in it. This is because it not only affects your home’s energy efficiency and how comfortable it will be year-round, but a faulty HVAC unit can also be hazardous to you and your family. As such, experts say that there are a few things you need to examine regarding your possible home’s HVAC unit.
In this article, the AC repair pros of Cool Zone Air Conditioning & Heating list the five things you should look at when inspecting a potential home’s HVAC unit.
Warranty – Every homeowner knows that a warranty is a good asset to have, whether it’s for your roof, siding, or HVAC unit. After all, with a comprehensive warranty, you can have certain components repaired or replaced if they fail earlier than expected due to a mistake that occurs during the manufacturing or installation process. However, most warranties are only good for a limited time. If you’re buying a home that’s a few decades old, make it a point to check if its HVAC unit is still under warranty. If not, consider looking for a different home. If that’s not an option, meanwhile, try having the unit replaced with a newer, better model. This way, you won’t just have an efficient HVAC unit, but one that’s protected by a warranty as well.
Age and condition – In addition to the warranty, AC replacement experts also recommend that you learn the age and condition of your HVAC unit, as this usually determines its current condition. If your potential home has an HVAC unit that’s 10 years old or less, this is still considered to be serviceable, and it may last you for a few more years. However, if the unit is 20 years old, it’s too old. Thus, it may not work as effectively as it should, consuming far more energy than necessary. This in turn will force you to pay more than you should on your monthly energy bills.
With that in mind, if your potential home’s HVAC unit is too old and inefficient, experts strongly recommend that you turn to an HVAC installation expert like Cool Zone Air Conditioning & Heating to help you replace the old unit with a newer one.
Repair and maintenance requirements – Even with the aid of professionals, not every homeowner has the time to properly maintain their HVAC unit, and as such, AC repair pros say that when examining a potential home’s HVAC unit, you should also ask about its repair and maintenance needs. This is because some units may require more maintenance than others. If you have a busy lifestyle, a lack of attention and maintenance can cause the HVAC unit to completely break down, something you want to avoid at all costs.
Therefore, if the HVAC unit currently installed in your potential home requires too much maintenance for you to handle, consider replacing it with a model that will remain efficient and long-lasting despite minimal maintenance.
Energy efficiency levels – With the right HVAC unit, AC maintenance service providers say you’ll be able to make your home as energy efficient as possible, allowing you to save a significant amount on your monthly bills. As such, it’s highly recommended that you check the energy efficiency levels of your potential home’s HVAC unit. To determine just how energy efficient an HVAC unit is, be sure to check its Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The higher a unit’s SEER is, the more energy efficient it is, which in turn translates to decreased energy bills.
Along with lowered bills, the SEER rating of an HVAC unit can also help you determine how reliable and long-lasting the unit will be. According to HVAC pros, a low SEER rating means that the system not only consumes more energy to operate but is also more prone to overheating, putting you and your home at risk of fires. A high SEER rating, meanwhile, means that your unit is safer to use.
Type of HVAC installation – Finally, you should also check on what type of HVAC installation your potential home’s unit has. When it comes to this, experts say that the type of HVAC installation usually depends on the areas that will need to be cooled and heated. For instance, central all-air units are designed to distribute air throughout the entire house, and as such require extensive ductwork to pull this off. Ductless or mini-split systems, on the other hand, don’t require ducts to distribute heating and cooling throughout your home since they can be installed on the wall, ceiling, or even outside your house.
Since you’re about to be the homeowner, it’s highly recommended that you learn everything you can about your potential home and its HVAC unit. If you want to understand the unit even further, meanwhile, you’re always more than welcome to enlist the services of an HVAC maintenance and installation expert to assist you.
If you need someone who can help you inspect a potential home’s HVAC unit, look no further than Cool Zone Air Conditioning & Heating. When it comes to AC maintenance and HVAC installation projects, we’re the number one service provider to turn to, and we won’t let you down! Thanks to our 15 years of experience in the HVAC industry, we give homeowners nothing but the best when it comes to products and services. You can rely on us! Give us a call at (623) 777-3881 or fill out our contact form to get in touch with us and request a FREE estimate today!