I gotta pay what?!?

When we think about things we are going to buy, price typically influences our decision above all else.  Granted there are a few things that we will not waiver on; things that we must have despite the price.  For me, I must have a Wendy’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich with Cheese (no tomato).  Regardless of if the cost of the McDonalds Chicken Sandwich is cheaper, I must have my Wendy’s.

Now I know that a chicken sandwich is a small purchase and said sandwich has a 0% chance of cooling or heating your house, but my point here is identifying our purchasing behavior and how it is influenced is important.  I am going to raise the vail on the price associated with your Heating and Cooling Cost and give you an idea of where your money goes.

First, let’s talk about the Heating and Air Unit.  This will consume the lion’s share of your budget.  It makes sense.  This is what makes it all worth it.  It has the compressor, the coils and the electronics.  This system could be large or small depending on the size of your house.  This HVAC unit could be a split-system or a package.  This could be a lot of things, but understand that this is where most of your cash goes.

Next, we have your supplies.  This could range anywhere from the lowly little ¼” sheet metal screw to a 20’ piece of flexible ductwork for your return air.  This could be the individual runs that come off the trunk line or a custom made piece of ductwork.  This is going to consume a decent amount here too.

Lastly, we have to talk about the company’s money.  Not to questions anyone’s intelligence but there are some large costs associated with running a legitimate business.  The key word here is legitimate.  Being legitimate is a lot of things, but it is not cheap. The first expense of course is compensation for the employees.  There is also insurance (auto, health, building, worker’s comp, ect).  Then there is the licensing process.  There is also cost associated with completing any mandatory training associated with doing our jobs as professionals.  There is also power bills, fuel costs, employee benefits and legal fees.  There are bonuses to pay.  There is the occasional charitable event to host.  There are also marketing costs too.

Whatever is leftover is profit or reinvested back into the company.

The point here is hiring a professional will of course come with a price.  However, this does not mean the price should not be affordable.  The price you pay should come with piece of mind.  That piece of mind should have VALUE to consumers.  Professionals will save you money if you consider extended life of a unit because of proper installation, warranty registration, product knowledge and any additional items thrown in (we give 1 year labor).  Professionals will also be able to pull any needed permits for your job.

When looking for someone to do your next Heating and Air project look to someone that gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling of peace of mind.  There will be a mental place where price intersects piece of mind.  When you find it you will know you have found someone to do your project.
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Hiring professionals may seem expensive, but if your system is broken in 2 weeks because someone wanted to save a relatively small amount of money, your inexpensive job just got a little more expensive.

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