How can you know if the maintenance contract with your HVAC company is worth the paper on which it is written? At a minimum, your service technician should provide you a written checklist of what’s being done to your system, and what is covered by your contract. The maintenance agreement that you sign should provide you with a check-up twice each year—once to assure proper heating, and once to ensure flawless cooling.
The MK Russell & Abbott Difference
The most important maintenance for an HVAC system is something homeowners can do themselves—change the filters regularly. The next most important thing is having the system checked by a professional. It takes an experienced technician at least 45 minutes to conduct a thorough check of an HVAC system, plus a minimum of 30 minutes travel time, twice annually. He or she will use very expensive equipment to certify safety. (For example, the ONLY way to assure your natural gas system is safe is by testing with a combustion analysis tool that costs about $2,000.) If your contractor claims to be able to do all that for $99 a year, rest assured shortcuts ARE being taken. MK Russell & Abbott offers comprehensive maintenance agreements starting at just $14 per month and thousands of our satisfied customers believe it’s well worth the peace of mind.
* Variations on this tale include “The $49 Tune-Up” and “The Cheaper Install.” Both offers exist, but you’ll get what you pay for.