The US Census Bureau estimates that between 2.5 - 3 million residential furnaces and air conditioners fail eachWhile some of these units have served their homes faithfully for decades, others die within days or weeksDealing with heating equipment that fails is often frustrating - homeowners may not know how to contact HVAC manufacturers, they aren't familiar with their HVAC parts warranties, and they don't know who in the HVAC Industry bears financial responsibility for repairs. in the middle of a heating or cooling crisis: keep reading. This article can help you avoid common mistakes and get your equipment running again with a minimum of out-of-pocket cost. If your heating or cooling equipment has developed a problem within the first year of installation, contactMost dealers will cover both parts and labor for the first year following installation. As one dealership service manager interviewed for this article explained, they'll go the extra mile if they

installed a unit that subsequently fails -- but they don't feel the same responsibility for a unit someone else Not sure who the installing dealer is? If the homeowner who purchased the equipment submitted a product registration card with the name of their installer, the manufacturer may have entered that information in theirA quick call to the manufacturer's customer support line may help. If you just bought a new home, the builder should be able to tell you the installer. If those approaches fail, look at the unit itself -- many contractors will leave a sticker on the unit with their contact information. If you can't find the installing dealer or they've gone out of business, don't panic. Your parts warranty remains valid as long as a licensed heating contractor does the work -- however, you will need to pay labor costs out-of-pocket. If your heating or cooling equipment was installed more than a year ago, you may still want to work with the

There can be benefits for you and the dealer in having a long-term business relationship. However, you may prefer a fresh face or a second opinion. Before you schedule an appointment with a new contractor, get answers to the following warranty-related questions: If this is the first problem with your heating equipment, read up onac unit for trucks HVAC parts warranties first.ac outdoor unit not working Be aware of the following issues:cost of new ac unit installed If your contractor makes multiple service calls and is unsuccessful in resolving the problem, you may need a secondConsider the following issues before you call in a second contractor. Much of this decision comes down to trust -- do you believe that your contractor is competent and honest?

If so, stick with them. If not, get more input. If you are experiencing multiple unsuccessful repair attempts on a relatively new machine, you may need to escalate the problem to the manufacturer. Reputable manufacturers, distributors and contractors all want you to be satisfied with your experience. If you are persistent, polite, and "squeaky," and if the dispute involves a new unit with a serious, legitimate and intractable problem -- they have been known to replace faulty units. However, although several manufacturers and distributors acknowledged that they have policies in place to replace faulty units, they made clear that replacement is an option of last resort, and they don't consider it their responsibility to cover the labor costs of replacing those units. Best practices for dealing with the manufacturer include:Select to search all Patches What to Do When Your Air Conditioner is Low on Freon When homeowners A/C doesn't seam to cool off the house the most common thought is "my air conditioner is low on Freon."

Is that really the problem? Summer time is almost here. It is getting warmer outside and you will soon be using your a/c. The most common question by homeowners is "does my a/c need freon?". First thing is "Freon" is a trademark name byDupont. Freon is actually regrigerant of many types. Most common residential a/c systems use R-22. Saying freon is like saying Xerox instead of copy machine. I am going to call it Freon for now. People think because the air coming from there registers feels to warm, or there house isn't cooling off fast enough it must need freon.Freon should not leak from your a/c. Air conditioning systems are sealed and should never leak. This isn't like putting gas in your car. If freon has leaked there is a problem. You need to have a qualified HVAC technician repair the leak or else this will keep happening. When an A/C gets low on freon it is very normal for the indoor coil to freeze to a block of ice. Then when that ice melts you will get water leaking in the furnace and on the floor.

Water will damage the furnace and just make your problems worse. Majority of service calls for "my a/c is low on freon" turns out to be just a plugged air filter. It is important that you change your furnace filter every month if you use a standard 1" thick filter.Signs A/C is low on Refrigerant You feel low airflow coming from registers Air starts to feel warmer from registers Water on floor by your furnace Ice building up on copper lines from a/c to indoor coil House takes longer than normal to cool off Now above are typical signs, but remember the majority of problems are something else beside low on refrigerant. Having your a/c cleaned and tested annually by a HVAC company can save you a lot of money over the years. One new fact to keep in mind is R22 refrigerant is in the process of being discontinued. 2010 all manufactures had to stop using R22 in there new equipment. As this happens the cost of R22 will keep going up. So if you have an a/c leaking this is just another reason you want to get it fixed so it doesn't happen again.