Online HVAC Deals — 3 Reasons Dealing With A Local Contractor Is A Safer Investment

To a large extent, buying merchandise online has replaced dealing with local businesses. Sometimes, this has worked well for the consumer. Other times, it creates more problems for the buyer than the money saved on an online purchase. One area that has not worked well for consumers is with online HVAC deals.

Problems With Online HVAC Deals

Here are three reasons why buying heating and cooling equipment online can be a mistake:

1. Warranties – Manufacturers selling through established contractors warrant their equipment. That rarely happens with online HVAC deals. Manufacturers don’t know how their equipment is handled or installed. Therefore, few warrant their units bought from the web. You may save money upfront but lose valuable protection.
2. Installation – Once you have bought the equipment, you may have trouble finding a qualified installer. Most won’t install online HVAC deals because they create problems for them. Professional contractors specifically size equipment for  individual homes. Those sized incorrectly will have future problems. Even though it may not be their fault, the installer knows his phone will ring first if there’s a problem. If you find an installer, they’ll probably charge you a whopping installation fee to cover themselves. In addition, they may refuse to even warrant the installation.
3. Parts Problems – You may find out your online HVAC deals are fake merchandise, or even worse, you never find out, but rather just deal with inferior equipment that you thought was the real thing. The Internet is full of knock-off merchandise. If a part needs replacing, the “alleged” manufacturer’s part may not work because the equipment is counterfeit. What do you do then?

Dealing with a local contractor may not match the “deal” online. But, it offers confidence in the product, warranties on installation and equipment, and assurances of recourse for any problems.

Before you buy online, contact us at Ernst Heating & Cooling. We’ll give you the straight truth about what you might be getting into. Call us; we’re here to answer any of your home comfort questions.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about online HVAC deals and other HVAC topics, visit our blog.

Ernst Heating & Cooling services Hamel, Illinois and the surrounding areas.