Your air conditioner is probably going to be your best friend during periods of intense warm weather in the Windsor area. However, when your air conditioner isn’t installed correctly, it can feel as if your best friend isn’t there for you. Air conditioning installation is one of the most vital parts of making sure your AC always performs as intended, but many people are hesitant to face the realities of AC installation head on and learn about the process. One of the most prohibitive factors in understanding AC installation is the imagined cost. People think that installing their unit is going to be an expensive ordeal, so some of them never bother to research their options and discover more cost-effective methods.
Believe it or not, there are ways you can save money on your air conditioning installation in Windsor. Below, we’re going to look at some of the easiest—and least discussed—ways to cut back on the costs of having an air conditioner installed in your Windsor home.
Avoid Repeat Visits; Get it Right the First Time
Many of the costs associated with air conditioning installation don’t come from the actual installation itself (although this can be expensive too; we’ll get to that later). Instead, unreasonable costs are often incurred when mistakes made on an installation necessitates additional servicing prematurely. It makes sense then that if you make sure your installation is carried out correctly the first time, you’ll be able to avoid other costs which could drive your overall expenses up. Let’s examine some of the easiest ways to make sure your installer does a decent job:
Pay Attention During the Sizing Process
Confused by the words “sizing process”? You shouldn’t be. If your AC installer doesn’t go through a process of sizing your cooling unit to your home, there’s something wrong. Proper sizing plays a huge role in making sure that your AC unit will run efficiently after installation, which prevents it from working too hard and developing premature mechanical problems.
Here’s the gist of AC sizing: any cooling system you want to be installed in your home will have a certain Btu rating. This rating makes the system appropriate for cooling a specified amount of space. Square footage isn’t the only thing you should consider when taking sizing into account, though. There’s also the matter of your ceiling height, insulation levels in your home, and how many of the rooms you actually need to cool. For example, if you never go into a particular part of your house during the summer months your contractor might be able to eliminate it from their Btu calculations.
Learn the Average Costs of Installing Different Units
You’ll always have to pay for labor when calling a professional HVAC technician to perform an installation, but you’ll also have to pay for the unit itself. Knowing this, you can reduce your costs by comparison shopping for a good unit. You can find a list of average costs for different popular brands here, but don’t necessarily choose the cheapest option. While a lower price at the point of purchase might seem like smart shopping, it can end up costing you more in the long run if you choose a unit that doesn’t use energy efficiently.
Offsetting Installation Costs with Efficient Long Term Use
Perhaps the best way to save money on your installation costs is to keep your air conditioners running efficiently over many years. An efficient air conditioner will cost you less money per month in utility bills than one that drains energy. However, that’s not the only way in which an efficient air conditioner can be good for your pocketbook. Certain states even offer incentives to homes that use energy efficiently. California is one of those states, so everything you do to make your home greener can benefit you financially—and your air conditioner is likely to be a big part of that.
Keeping Your Unit Efficient
Of course, purchasing a high-quality air conditioner isn’t the only thing you’ll need to do if you want it to remain efficient and eventually offset its installation costs. You’ll also want to make sure you provide it with routine service to prevent costly problems from cropping up and setting you back. A compressor can cost more than a thousand dollars easily, so you want to avoid major malfunctions. Instead, have a qualified tech come out to your building once or twice a year and conduct a routine checkup for your unit. You might even want to enroll in a service plan so that you can keep your unit functioning properly and nickel and dime your way into savings. Valley Comfort Heating and Air knows how to perform an accurate and reliable air conditioning installation in Windsor. Please contact us to talk about your AC needs.