What to Look for in a Heating and Air Conditioning Contractor

Most of us couldn’t imagine what life would be like without our heating and air conditioning units. This is especially true during the worst of summer and winter when temperatures can make life practically unbearable if you don’t have the help of an air conditioning or heating unit working to make things comfortable. That’s why, if yours suffers any problems or you simply need to have it inspected, you don’t want to waste any time or money on heating and air conditioning contractors who won’t do the best job possible. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to make this process a simple one.

Ask Around

This is probably the easiest way to get a short list of excellent heating and air conditioning contractors in your area. Whether you need heating or air conditioning installation, repairs or inspections, no advertisement is better than someone you trust reporting that they had a good experience with the professional they used.

Go Online

If you don’t know enough people who have used heating and air conditioning contractors, you’re far from out of luck. Go online and take advantage of the countless review sites out there. Obviously, you don’t know the people leaving the reviews, so take each with a grain of salt.

Ensure They’re Licensed

The necessary credentials will differ by state, but every serviceman who wants to work on your HVAC unit has to be certified and licensed to work. If they’re not, don’t bother considering them, even if you’re offered a discount to ignore this issue. For one thing, it doesn’t say much for their professionalism if they won’t even take the time to get the proper credentials necessary to work legally. However, it may also reflect that they’re out of the loop in terms of best practices in the industry.

On this same note, never let anyone on your property until they’ve proven they’re insured. Otherwise, if they get hurt or break something, you could be the one held responsible.

Confirm They Know Your Make and Model

Finding the right heating or air conditioning service means asking about which makes and models a serviceman has experience with. Just like not all mechanics are experienced with working on certain cars, many repairmen simply may not know the type of HVAC system you rely on. Always go with those who have trained on and/or worked on your specific type of unit.

Always Get Estimates

Always get a quote before allowing anyone to work on your unit or install one for you. Preferably, you want it in writing so there’s no confusion later.

Furthermore, when you want heating or air conditioning installation, a serviceman will generally visit your home to take a look at what the process will entail prior to providing you a quote. However, you should expect the same kind of service when you simply want heating or air conditioning service on a preexisting unit. Until they see your unit, don’t take any quotes seriously.

Don’t put off repairs, inspections or installation a minute longer. Using the above advice, get the contractor you need today.

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Three Guiding Principles of Green Living

Green Living is an admirable goal. But most of us can’t embrace a crunchy-granola-live-off-the-land- like pioneers kind of lifestyle. If you don’t know the simple steps to take, being eco-friendly becomes a time and money drain wrought with guilt. But most would take green options if they were clear and simple.

What if Green Living became the norm? With a few basic guidelines, 2014 can become the year of living green without hassle or guilt. Below are 3 Guiding Principles of Green Living that can easily change your life and take care of our planet.

Three Guiding Principles of Green Living:

Waste Not. This is so simple that it should be the basis for all decisions. Minimize the trash you create. Don’t use four paper towels if two do the job. Start a compost pile. Don’t waste gas idling in a drive through line when you’d already be done if you’d just gone inside.
Use, re-use, re-cycle or donate. Max out the usage of everything you own. One man’s trash is another man’s treasure so consign items or at least donate. Re-use plastic food containers, recycle all items you can and reverse the horrible trend of the throwaway mentality.
Eliminate toxins. It is mind boggling how many poisons we create and then dump back into our bodies and the environment. The biggest culprits are pesticides but there are plenty of synthetic chemical mysteries that serve as food additives, artificial fragrances, and pharmaceuticals. Toxins are just as the name implies – they are toxic and they are slowly poisoning us and the Earth.
Using these guidelines makes Green Living pretty easy, right? The next time you are at the grocery store, these Green Living principles will help you purchase food amounts that will have no waste, offer minimal packaging (or hopefully packaging you can reuse), and you’ll choose products that are organic, natural, and free of toxins.

Throughout your day, you can choose minimal waste options – don’t use a bag if you only buy one thing and use your own reusable water bottle instead of plastic water bottles.

Another significant Green Living arena is to speak out against the prolific use of pesticides. It is easy to control the use (or non-use) of pesticides in your own home. But remember that our schools, businesses, and all public spaces have odorless, colorless synthetic chemical pesticides sprayed every few months. Not green at all.

Adopting a Green Living Lifestyle isn’t hard. It is easy to live green if you take baby steps guided by simple Green Living principles.

Louise Hodges is the owner of Greenbug which offers effective, safe and green pest control solutions as an alternative to synthetic chemical pesticides.

Greenbug products for People, Pets, Indoors & Outdoors kill and repel pests you don’t want such as Mosquitoes, Ants, Bed Bugs, Fleas, Ticks, Roaches, Mites, etc. but cause no harm whatsoever to beneficial creatures.

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