Hints on finding a good heating contractor

If they’re not test testing they must be guessing

(the same principals of measurement apply to air conditioning)

 

If you have your heating system serviced once a year or more, please use the following as a guide to evaluate the service being provided to you and to determine if your service provider has fulfilled his professional duty.  If you have not had your heating system tested in over a year or more, please schedule to have it serviced & tested.

If you have several appliances in your home, have them all serviced during the same appointment.  Even if you have all of the following appliances in your home, a check of all of them may take as little time as an hour if everything is performing properly to several hours if the appliances tested are in disrepair or were never set up properly when installed.

The following gas or oil fired heating equipment should be measured & tested thoroughly when first installed and checked periodically.

Furnaces & boilers

Water heaters

Fireplaces

Cooking appliances

Clothes dryers

Hot tub, spa & sauna heaters

Any other fossil fuel appliance.

 

Your contractor must utilize test instruments and measuring devices to ensure safe reliable and efficient operation.

 

Anytime you have your furnace serviced or turned on, make sure whoever is doing the work has the ability to measure and provide the documented measurements required to assure your system meets the manufacturer's specifications.  Typical measurements would include (but not be limited to):

Click on the picture for more information

 Fuel pressure to the appliance and to the burner

 

Temperature of the hot water tank

Temperature Rise

 

 Air flow in ductwork measured as External Static Duct Pressure (ESP)

 

Draft readings in all applicable vent systems

 

Final combustion test results (some instruments have printing capabilities to document and record test results)

If you don't test, you don't know