Hiring an HVAC Contractor in Reynoldsburg, Ohio? Watch Out for These Red Flags

We are proud to supply the good citizens of Reynoldsburg, Ohio, “The Birthplace of the Tomato,” with heating and cooling services. You have placed your trust in us over the years, and we hope we have returned the favor.

HVAC (heating, ventilation, and cooling) equipment is complicated, much more than any other major appliance. You can take a new refrigerator, no matter how expensive, and plug it in, and it will run for 10-20 years. Sure, you might have to hook it up to a water supply to make ice, and you might need to tweak the temperature, but it’s a snap to install.

An air conditioner, furnace, or heat pump is much more complicated. Technicians need to know about static pressure, temperature, chemicals, airflow, electricity, and more. They may also have to know some welding, carpentry, masonry, and sheet-metal skills.

Buy Your Trane Air Filter From Fire & Ice

We’ve partnered with a national filter provider that has every size and brand of filter you could imagine, and have made purchasing yours easier than ever! Click the button below to get started, and have your filters delivered right to your doorstep.

They have to problem-solve. It’s not enough to know how to get a furnace in place and flip a switch or two. They have to integrate equipment, making sure that all of the pieces work together in harmony and can “talk” to the thermostat. Ductwork has to integrate with the heat pump, which needs to communicate with the breaker box, which powers the air handler, and so on.

Therefore, unless you’re an HVAC expert, you have to put a lot of trust in your prospective contractor. You are investing thousands of dollars in a piece of machinery that is designed to last 15-20 years. And during those years, your system gives your comforting warmth and cooling. It’s a major portion of your energy bill, and it can help clean the indoor air.

To get the best out of your new purchase, it’s important to know something about the system you’re buying and to have an insight into HVAC companies’ practices - both good and bad.

At Fire & Ice, we believe in giving our customers as much information as they need so that they can make an informed choice.

By the end of this article, you should have a better idea of what companies not to hire.

So here are some examples of some of the worst (and best) HVAC contractors’ practices.

Beware Companies That Hire Third-Party Contractors

Third-party contractors are easy to identify. They will show up at your home without a uniform in a truck or van with no discernable markings. Until they show you some ID, you’ll have no idea of who they are. It should be standard operating procedure that they should email or text a photo of themselves so that you can be aware of who will be in your home.

These contractors may or may not have an HVAC license. To legally perform heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration work in the state of Ohio, they “must be a licensed HVAC contractor or a technician apprentice working under a licensed contractor.” A trade license is proof of experience and skill.

These contractors may not be bonded. The bonds are a three-party agreement that helps protect consumers in the event an HVAC contractor performs a job that does not hold up to state regulations. In other words, if the work is shoddy, you’ll have to work that much harder to get your money back.

And they may not have insurance, which is a major risk for your home and your pocketbook.

So why do companies hire these folks? Because they’re cheap. HVAC contractors can hire third-party workers and don’t have to pay insurance for them, don’t have to furnish trucks or uniforms, and don’t bother with ongoing training. Your contractor could be learning on the job instead of in the classroom.

This is one way HVAC companies can keep their costs down, but it short-changes the customer.

Contractors Should Pull Permits

HVAC contractors are required to pull permits to replace or add any type of new HVAC equipment to a home. For this, they must have a valid state HVAC license.

The permit gives the state or county’s building department notice of the work being done, which then sets the parts in motion to get an inspection after the job is finished.

The main purpose of the inspection is to make sure the equipment is installed to code and the manufacturer’s specifications, and to make sure there are no safety issues.

Make sure that the company you hire shows you their HVAC license, and then provides a permit.

Beware Companies That Skip Manual J Load Calculation

The Air Conditioning Contractors of America put together a technical manual that is the accepted standard for sizing HVAC equipment.

In other words, it’s not a simple procedure that should be followed if a contractor feels like it. It should always be performed.

It doesn’t matter whether an existing air conditioner is already in place that has a particular size (measured in tonnage, such as “3 tons”). A lazy guess would be to size the new AC the same size as the old one and hope for the best.

Another method - also suspect - is to take your home’s square footage and use that and only that as the sizing measurement. This “guideline” is that for every 400 square feet, one ton of air conditioning capacity is needed. In a house with 1,200 square feet, this would mean that you need a three-ton air conditioning unit.

The Manual J isn’t hard to do, nor does it take a long time. Ten minutes at the most. It takes into account the size and number of windows, the thickness of insulation, the number of occupants, the orientation of the house in relation to the sun, and more.

If your unit is sized incorrectly - and it happens a lot - there are a host of poor outcomes.

If it’s too small:

• The unit won’t be able to heat or cool as it should, creating an uncomfortable living space
• Your energy bill will be higher than it should be because of the longer run times
• The machine will need more repairs, and you’ll have to replace it sooner

 And if it’s too big:

• It does what’s called “short cycling.” It conditions the air too quickly, leaving uneven heat or cool spots throughout the home
• It doesn’t allow the air to go through the furnace filter as much, leading to poor indoor air quality
• It’s harder on the unit because it has to stop and start more than it should, leading to higher repair bills and a shorter lifespan

Poor Installation Practices: No Commissioning; Not Replacing the Line Set; Not Brazing with Nitrogen

Eventually, you will be satisfied with your purchase of a new furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump. It looks great online. It’s nice and shiny out of the box.

What could go wrong during the installation?

It turns out: plenty.

The most important day in the life of a piece of HVAC equipment is Day One. The best-case scenario is that your furnace will be set up to run according to the manufacturer’s specifications. The reality is that approximately nine out of ten installations fall short of this ideal.

Fire & Ice performs certain steps that are often missed on every installation. On every installation, we perform thorough “commissioning” that tracks 57 different variables.

Full commissioning (testing) of equipment, once it’s installed, ensures efficient operation. This procedure includes: 

• Temperature drop rates at various stages of cooling
• Temperature rises for various stages of heating
• Static pressure readings
• The amperage of the blower motor
•  Gas pressure at each phase of the heating process
• CFM (cubic feet per minute) of airflow throughout the ductwork
• Refrigerant pressures at each phase of the cooling cycle
• And so on

 If any one of these steps is skipped, it can cost you hundreds of dollars in your energy bill yearly. It might also shortchange the lifespan of your system. A furnace designed to last 20 years now becomes one that dies in year 10.

And it might also rob you of deserved comfort. The furnace may take longer to warm up your home, or it might shut off prematurely, or it may not circulate the air as it should, leaving your home with uneven temperatures.

And these are things that simply turning on the equipment won’t uncover.

The line set should be replaced during every air conditioner installation.

Some explanation is required; A line set consists of two semi-flexible copper pipes that connect the outdoor air conditioner or heat pump to the indoor evaporator coil. One pipe is called the liquid line, and the larger pipe is insulated is called the suction line.

If you are upgrading from an older AC that uses R-22 refrigerant (which is no longer being manufactured), the line set also needs an upgrade for R-410A refrigerant.

In late 2020, we started using a product from Airex Manufacturing that developed a line set protection product. The Airex Flexguard Line Set Protector is a sealed wall cap that attaches to the side of the house.  It keeps stuff from coming inside, and it’s plastic so it doesn’t corrode.

We install one of these with every new heat pump or air conditioner installation because it protects the system better. We also replace the line set because we don’t know how well the old line set was installed. That way, your system gets the best possible treatment before it runs.

Read more: The Airex Pro Positive Seal System: Beauty & Performance for Air Conditioner Installations

We take an additional, important step: We braze refrigerant lines with nitrogen.

Nitrogen-based brazing is a process of purging nitrogen through the copper while you’re brazing it. It keeps the copper clean, which is essential because refrigeration systems need to be very clean and dry before the refrigerant is added.

Are the HVAC Contractors Paid by the Hour or by Piece-Rate?

There’s a simple question you can ask that will separate the good companies from the bad: Are their employees paid by W2s, or are they paid by piece rate? In other words, a W2 employee gets paid hourly, and the other is paid by the job.

If they are paid by the job, it’s more or less an incentive to do as many jobs as possible in as short a time as possible. Rushing through an installation or repair might land an HVAC technician another job on the same day. Who can blame them? If they can do two jobs in one day, they get paid twice.

They can cut a corner or two or three to get the job done and move on. They get paid the same whether they spend two hours on an installation or six.

Compare that to HVAC technicians who are paid by the hour. Their primary goal is not speed. It’s to take their time and get the job done right. A typical installation takes six to eight hours. It’s always worth it when a tech uses all of that time.

Read more: Cutting Corners: A Look at the Best and Worst HVAC Company Practices

No Final Quality Inspection (FQI)

Some companies do their installation and take your money, and you won’t hear from them again.

They don’t follow up to ensure they performed the job right.

A week or two after installation, a Fire & Ice representative will return to your home to ensure everything is functioning properly, to make sure you understand your thermostat, and to inspect the quality of the installation. Our technicians get a bonus if the job was done correctly.

We also schedule follow-up visits 90 days, six months, and one year after installation to ensure you’re satisfied with your HVAC system.

What Is NATE, and Why Is It Important for My HVAC Contractor?

NATE stands for the North American Technician Excellence. Hiring a contractor with this certification ensures that they are knowledgeable when it comes to installation and helps to keep you and your home safe from any dangers. NATE is considered the gold standard of HVAC certification programs.

You don’t want just anyone working on your system.

Hiring a contractor who is not certified in current HVAC standards or having a neighbor or someone you know who is good with tools perform services on your system is dangerous and can even be lethal.

• A furnace that is not properly tuned or has a cracked heat exchanger can leak carbon monoxide, an odorless, colorless gas. Exposure can be toxic and even deadly.
• Air conditioner refrigerants can also be hazardous. They can cause frostbite or sight impairment if any comes in contact with your skin or eyes. Inhaling a refrigerant can lead to asphyxiation. Improper handling can also have serious environmental risks, and releasing refrigerants into the air can damage the ozone layer (and is highly illegal).

Read more: Certification Programs: What are they, and why are they essential for your HVAC contractor

Say ‘NO’ to High-Pressure Sales Tactics

If your contractor starts acting like a shady timeshare salesperson, show them the door. You know the routine. You’ll hear things such as, “This price is good only for today.” Or they will stress that even though you don’t have any overriding comfort concerns with your current unit (other than the fact you need it to be replaced), you need to upgrade. Does it mean more money in the contractor’s pocket if they can sell you something bigger and better? Probably.

The right approach is to get you the product that you are comfortable with. It will be the best solution for your unique heating or cooling needs, and for your budget and energy bill desires. A thorough interview during the sales process will be able to discern this.

Read more: 10 Things to Get Out of an HVAC Sales Appointment

Hiring the Right HVAC Contractor in Reynoldsburg, Ohio

If you’d like a guide that lists the top things to look for when hiring an HVAC contractor, you’re in luck. We’ve put one together:

And if you’re in the market for HVAC service, whether it’s for installation or maintenance, no matter if you live in Reynoldsburg or elsewhere in Central Ohio, we’d love to hear from you.