It’s easy to find someone who’s willing to take care of repairs, installation, or other work for your home’s heating and cooling system. All you need to do is type in a few keywords into a search engine, and local services will pop up.
However, being willing is not the same as being able. How do you know these people offering to do the work can actually handle it correctly and in a timely fashion? There’s a huge gulf between someone who tinkers around with equipment and someone who is fully certified, licensed, and continually trained.
Certification
When you’re looking for HVAC services, one of the first criteria on your list should be whether the technicians are NATE certified. North American Technician Excellence certification is the only industry-wide recognized certification for heating, cooling, and ventilation. Applicants must pass a rigorous test to show their extensive knowledge of HVAC systems, and they must maintain the certification through additional training or regular re-certification. Another important certification is EPA certification, which is important for any technician who works with the refrigerants found in ACs and heat pumps.
Licensing
Always make sure that any HVAC contractor you consider hiring has a state license. Applicants for the California HVAC Contractor License (C-20) must sit for two exams and have four years of experience as journeymen, foremen, contractors, or owner-builders. Licensed contractors must also be bonded. You can check on a contractor’s license here.
On-Going Training
The technology of heating and cooling advances constantly, as with any other field. For example, furnaces are developing new ways to increase energy efficiency every year. HVAC technicians can’t simply stand still and hope that no new information about their job develops: they must continually keep pace with technology. This is why it’s important that you look for HVAC professionals who engage in regular training so they know about the latest advances and can provide you with up to date services. You can rely on a technician with continual training to give you the best advice about new products for installation.
Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning is a licensed HVAC Contractor (#463756) and our technicians are HVAC-certified and undergo rigorous regular training to stay up to date with the newest developments in the field. We have served Madera and Fresno, CA since 1952.