Over the years, some heating and air conditioning repair and sales companies have gotten a bit of a bad rap. Understandably, they've been lumped into the other mechanical trades, like auto repair, where less than trustworthy scoundrels have given the whole repair or service industry a bad name.

Fortunately, with the advent of the internet, things have changed. Consumers can now research qualitative information on heating and air conditioning contractors, like customer testimonials, company history and BBB reports. These well-informed customers are helping the dependable, reliable and customer service focused home comfort companies grow and flourish, while the rest are falling to the wayside. This is good news for the HVAC industry and consumers alike.

Maintenance Matters When I visit my customers, the one thing I let them know is that preventive maintenance for heating and air conditioning equipment matters most of all. If your car's engine never gets tuned-up, it's going to break down sooner rather than later. When it does, you simply can't drive.

If your furnace, air conditioner or other home heating and cooling equipment doesn't get tuned up, it will also break down sooner. And, depending on how extreme the heat or cold is, you and your family might not be able to stay inside your own home, perhaps for several days! Believe me, that's worth a little time and effort to keep from happening.

What A Proper Heating & Cooling Tune-up Actually Does A tune-up on a furnace and air conditioner is very similar to the tune-up on your car. Although there is not usually 'oil' to change on home comfort equipment, there are standard maintenance steps for properly cleaning, lubricating and correcting the temperature control system, all of which might get out of balance over time. Well-performed tune-ups will clean and balance the system, and ensure all parts are operating as safe and efficiently as possible. Tune-ups vary by company, but they should consist of: * A complete visual system inspection * An operational assessment * Safety component and thermostat calibration check * Measurement and correction of temperature difference between the source and return air * A system cleaning and standard air filter replacement * Gas or oil pressure and pilot light adjustments (for heating equipment) Generally, most homes consist of a heating system and a separate piece of cooling equipment, so there is a separate detailed tune-up process for each one of these components.

A tune up for each should usually be performed before the homeowner intends to run the system regularly, before the hottest or coldest seasons of the year. The easiest way to remember to get a tune-up for your home comfort system is to make it part of your spring cleaning checklist and early Fall festivities. Having a tune-up at the right time helps to ensure the system will operate properly when being used the most. At these between-season times, when weather is generally mild, heating and cooling companies are also more available to perform tune-up service, and in most cases at discounted rates. It's no different than tuning up your vehicle before a summer road trip.

Certification Is The Key It's very important that heating and air conditioning tune-ups be performed by trained, experienced, and certified technicians. Any equipment that heats up to very high temperatures, like a furnace, is potentially very dangerous and unsafe. You wouldn't let the neighbor with zero mechanical training rebuild your car's brakes, would you? We can't stress enough how extremely important it is to have a qualified, properly trained technician perform tune-ups on your HVAC equipment, if for no other reason than for your family's personal safety.

In the heating and air conditioning industry there is only one nationally recognized technical certification, called NATE (North American Technician Excellence). NATE is an independent, third party certification body for HVAC/R technicians. The organization tests HVAC technician's true working skills, and provides certification for those technicians who pass the various competency exams they offer. You can find out more about NATE at their website, www.natex.org . Be sure to ask any company you speak to if their technicians are NATE-certified.

Properly maintaining your heating and cooling system by choosing certified professionals helps ensure your home has years of comfortable enjoyment. Locally or nationally, you want to choose the best company to maintain your home comfort system. You will get what you pay for, so ask the tough questions, get documented guarantees and choose the right company for you.

This article is provided by Service Experts. For more information visit www.ServiceExperts.ca and visit Sam’s Blog for more articles and information.