One of the most popular ways to heat and cool homes in our area is by using a heat pump. We have been installing a lot of heat pumps lately. In this article, we want to take you through our process, from when we first come assess your situation, until we install the new heat pump. Our goal is to meet or surpass your expectations throughout the entire process.

Consultation

As nice as it would be to have “off the shelf” products and pricing for heat pumps it’s not quite that simple. This is due to the customized nature of the installation process at each home, in addition to the variations in heat pump features and efficiencies.

That being said, a homeowner can expect a new heat pump installation starting price around $9000. This is usually for the most basic heat pump, with the lowest efficiency. As the energy efficiency levels rise, so will the price of the heat pump.

Heat pump cooling efficiency is measured using Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, or SEER. The heating efficiency is measured using HSPF, or Heating Seasonal Performance Factor. As the SEER and HSPF numbers rise, the more efficient and expensive the heat pump will be.

The purpose of the consultation is to fully understand the customer’s needs and expectations. Prior to coming to your home, if time allows, our comfort specialist will perform a heat load calculation. Most of the information needed to do this is available from third-party online sources such as Zillow.com. However, they may need to call you to complete the analysis or complete it once they are at your home. An example output of this analysis is shown below. You can see that about 52,000 BTUs of heat energy are needed to heat this home.

Using this information, we will be able to measure how much heating and cooling will be needed from your new heat pump. We will give you some different options, with different ranges of energy efficiency. Remember, the more energy efficiency your heat pump is, the less money you will spend on utility bills throughout the year.

You can think about this like you do vehicles. You can buy the Dodge Charger and get 22 miles per gallon, or the Honda Accord and get 36 miles per gallon. Both can accomplish the mission, but one does it at much lower operational expense.

Heat pumps come in a few different styles as well. You can install a traditional heat pump that uses ducts to deliver the treated air throughout the home. This system will provide even and consistent heating and cooling throughout the entire space.

You may also consider a ductless mini split heat pump system. You may have seen these in other homes and businesses, and not even realized it. They require no ductwork. They run using a condenser outside that can hook up to head units or cassettes inside through a small bit of tubing. You can learn a little more about ductless mini splits here.

During the consultation, we will take you through the best options that suit your situation.

In addition to ensuring we size the heat pump correctly for your home, we also want to ensure the duct system is sized correctly for the amount of airflow needed to condition the home. It is quite common for air returns to be undersized, which can impede efficient conditioning of the home and shorten equipment life. The overall condition of your duct system can be assessed as well.

The logistics of replacing your heat pump air-handler also must be assessed. Is the access hole to the attic or crawl space limited in size? Can the installers safely access the working area? Sometimes, additional plywood is secured to the joists in the attic to improve working efficiency and safety. You will see the comfort specialist capture most of this information in a digital form on their iPad, along with many pictures and some videos. These are instrumental in helping the installation team to be well-prepared when they arrive.

The Sale

Our goal is to help educate you as much as possible so that you can make an informed decision that leaves you with no regrets. We want to tell you everything about our company, our people, our standard of service, and the products we have to offer. We want you to know by the end of your consultation if you want to do business with us or not. Yes is great, and no is ok.

The comfort specialist will ask you for your preferred installation date or dates.

If you decide later on, for example on another day, to move forward with the installation, contact the main office or reply to the email address on your quote. You will be contacted to secure your deposit or financing, and to determine when you prefer the installation. We have a note explaining this on all of our quotes, but you should be aware that our quotes are valid for 30 days. If you make a decision to use us after 30 days, we may need to update our quote as equipment prices and other variables may change.

The Installation

Once you’ve made the decision to move forward on an installation with Blue Ridge Heating and Air, the Installation Manager will pull the permit with the county or city as applicable and contact you to solidify the installation date.

The day before the installation, the Installation Manager will re-confirm the install for the next day with you. On the morning of the install, the Lead Installer will call you before leaving the shop as a final confirmation. The Lead Installer will be your primary point of contact during the installation, but you are free to contact the Installation Manager with any questions or concerns.

After the installation is complete, the final payment will be collected or monthly payments activated. The Lead Installer will review the Comfort Maintenance Plan with you, and then request a want-date for the inspection. At a later date, the office will schedule the date of inspection and inform you. The inspector will inform you and the company of the inspection result. Should the inspection fail for any reason, Blue Ridge Heating & Air will contact you to schedule a date to come resolve the issue.

In Summary

We know that Blue Ridge Heating and Air is not going to be the best fit for everyone. You will find a wide range of pricing in the market. Generally, the low end of the pricing begins with the phrase, “I know a guy…, or My cousin does side work…, etc.” If that sounds appealing to you, we are not a good fit. Our pricing may be 20 to 50% higher than these options. You should not expect a permit, inspection, or strong follow-up service in these cases.

The other end of the pricing spectrum is typically associated with the larger, well-known company names in the area. Their reputations are easily assessed by looking at the reviews on their websites and Google profiles. Quite often, they have solid reputations and will stand behind their work. On occasion, we have seen their prices be 1.5 to 2 times higher than ours when we’ve crossed paths with a customer. We think that you will find that Blue Ridge Heating and Air pricing lies somewhere in between these two extremes. We do have overhead, a building, trucks, benefits for our valued team members, regular factory training on equipment, etc. So we will never have the lowest price out there. However, we pride ourselves on “Going the Extra Mile” for our customers. If you do not have this type of experience with us, our management and owners want to know about it and make it right.