Beware – Avoid Purchasing a Heat Pump from Someone on the Side or for a Cash Job

There’s no shortage of people in HRM willing to install a heat pump. Either licensed technicians on the side outside regular hours from their day job or those willing to do lower priced cash jobs but are not licensed red seal refrigerant technicians.

In this article we discuss why choosing to have a heat pump installed by someone on the side or worse, someone who isn’t licensed to do the work, might seem like a great deal up front to save a few bucks but could back fire on you down the road.

#1 Wrong Skill Set

In Nova Scotia your heat pump is supposed to be installed by a red seal certified journeymen HVAC technician. This is not just for your safety and quality of install, but also to ensure the warranty on your new heat pump is valid.

We currently have three full time techs on staff as well as three apprentices. You can ask to see their red seal card on the job site at any time to verify this.

When you find someone to install a heat pump on Kijiji or Craigslist you aren’t always getting a qualified technician to complete the job for you.

Why does this matter?

For a couple of reasons.

First, warranties from all major heat pump brands require a certified and licensed tech to complete the install other wise warranty is void. We’ve seen it happen that a warranty claim is denied when it’s deemed an install issue not a product failure issue. In these cases the home owner is left having to foot the bill for a repair.

Second, while hanging the indoor head unit and clipping the slim duct on the outside of your home isn’t doesn’t require years of specialized training, the vacuuming down of the system, releasing the refrigerant and ensuring there’s adequate refrigerant in the system for the length of the line set run are technical aspects of the install job that HVAC techs went to school for and have spent thousands of hours training on.

Improper installation can lead to:

• Poor performance of your heat pump in the winter months
• Shortened life of the compressor in the outdoor unit

#2 No After Install Service

Probably the biggest issue we’ve seen when home owners opt to have someone do a side job for the install of their heat is a lack of service after the job is done. We receive calls every week from home owners who found someone to do their job for cheap and now have an issue. They can’t for the life of them seem to get that same person to their house to look at their system.

This is pretty common. People completing these jobs on the side don’t factor in that they may have to come back if there’s an issue and there by often don’t want to do it because they are effectively doing it for free.

This can mean you’re left holding the bag on a repair bill if one is needed, or worse you’re left with a machine that isn’t working in the dead of winter when you need it the most to cut down on heating costs.

You probably wouldn’t by a brand new Honda or Toyota from someone off the street who wasn’t a dealer right? Same goes for heat pumps, especially when you’re considering top quality brands such as Fujitsu or Mitsubishi.

#3 Poor Access to Quality Heat Pump Brands

As HRM’s leading residential heat pump contractor we know first hand top quality brands such as Fujitsu and LG will not just sell their products to anyone walking in off the street with money. They want to protect their dealer network and ensure that all installs of their equipment are being done properly and are supported afterwards.

For this reason, even a qualified technician doing a side job, doesn’t have access to the same top quality brands that a qualified heat pump contracting company does.

If you are wanting to purchase one of the top tier brands on the market then I’d suggest just skipping the whole side/cash job route.

So who should you call for a heat pump?

While it might cost a bit more money, hiring a qualified heat pump contractor in HRM who has their on red seal journeymen HVAC techs on staff is your best bet.

You’ll know you’re getting a quality install that’s done right and the company that completes the install will be there to back it up and answer your questions or calls should you have a service issue down the road.

Here at Sunshine Renewable Energy, teams of qualified installers work on jobs all week around HRM installing ductless and central ducted heat pump systems. We offer a 12 month workmanship guarantee on all the work we do so you can rest assured that if you run in to any troubles we’ll be there to support you.

If you’re interested in learning more about heat pumps then check out some of our other blog posts on the site. If you would like some specific advice on what size and brand of system would be best for your home then give us a call today or submit the form to the bottom of this page to setup an in-home assessment with one of our Home Energy Specialists.