It’s officially summer in West Michigan, and if temperatures in the 100’s in early June are any indication, it’s safe to say it is going to be a hot summer. The higher the temperature, the more your air conditioner has to work to cool your home, which is why we see more breakdowns as the heat rises.

If your AC was on its last leg last summer, and you are considering options for a new air conditioner this summer, what does that process look like? What can you expect from a reputable HVAC company from the first phone call to the actual house call? This week, we’re breaking down BOSS Service’s step-by-step process of what to expect when upgrading your air conditioning unit. You can read or listen to our weekly podcast about this topic below!

Step 1: Contact Your HVAC Company to Set Up an Appointment

An AC breakdown can be extremely inconvenient and uncomfortable in 90 degree weather so a responsive HVAC company will make it as easy as possible to contact them and respond quickly. At BOSS, you can reach us 24/7, weekends and holidays, by calling 269-468-6682, which is the fastest method.  However, we are responding around the clock to Facebook and Google messages, our website chat, Instagram, website forms, and more to make sure we are serving people in any medium they feel comfortable reaching out to us.

After the initial contact, our customer service experts will gather your information over the phone, asking for your location, phone number, and some basic information about your AC that will help prepare our BOSS Comfort Advisors so they are aware of what’s going on before they set foot in your door.

Step 2: Exploring AC Replacement Options with a Comfort Advisor

After the initial phone call, our customer service experts will set up an appointment with you, blocking off 2 hours to give you and our comfort advisor plenty of time to examine your current situation, provide solutions, and help you understand the full scope of the issue to help you make the best decision possible for your home. 

Our comfort advisor will go through your home and ask a lot of questions so we can make recommendations to help solve any problems or concerns you may have. We will ask about hot and cold spots in your room, examine energy bills, or anything that you may have issues with so we can make the best recommendations for the issues at hand.

Step 3: Efficiency Options for Your AC Replacement

We don’t want to just come out to your home and show you the price for just any AC, we want to address all of your concerns so we create a custom solution for your home with different options at different price points. For example, if you don’t want a super high, efficiency air conditioner, we won’t even include that on our list of options for you. If your primary goal is comfort and efficiency, we will provide options that fit within those specifications. So presenting AC replacement solutions isn’t a one-size-fits-all resolution. 

Step 4: Taking Accurate Measurements of Your Home

We take accurate measurements of your home because there are different size AC units from a 1.5 ton all the way up to a 5 ton AC unit. The size of your home determines what size unit you need. There’s so many different variables to consider what’s best for your home, and that’s why our Comfort Advisors ask plenty of questions so they can factor all of these variables into the best solution for cooling your home. 

We also perform a heat load or cooling calculation. We measure your rooms and look at your windows as well and perhaps discuss insulation or replacing windows if we feel that could help with your overall HVAC efficiency. The more information we have about your home, the better solution we can provide for you.

For instance, if you’ve upgraded your insulation and windows, you might not need the same size unit that is in your home currently.. You might be able to go with a smaller unit and because your home is more efficient than when you moved in. So making sure your unit is sized appropriately for your home’s current situation is key to making a good recommendation for an AC replacement. 

There is a study we recently read that said today’s low efficiency AC units are more efficient than a high efficiency unit was 15 years ago. So if you bought  top of the line equipment 15 years ago, entry level equipment today  is probably just as efficient as your current system, if not more efficient. As you can imagine, technology has made a big impact on the efficiency and comfort levels over the years.

Step 5: Discussing Ductless Cooling System Options (if needed) 

In Southwest Michigan, we see a lot of people using boilers to heat their homes. We encounter a lot of baseboard heated homes that don’t have duct work. So what are the options for air conditioning without ductwork? A popular solution that we install are Mitsubishi ductless systems.  They are essentially wall, floor or ceiling mounts connected to an outdoor unit outside, and allow you to zone your home so you can set these mounts to different temperatures in different rooms.

If you need more information on mini-split heating and cooling, we have a great blog that details how they work: https://thebossservices.com/most-energy-efficient-hvac-systems-2021/

We equate using ductless mini-splits to heat and cool your home to an electrical system. If you flip a light switch, not every light in your home turns on. With your electrical system, you can turn lights on and off individually in each room, which is exactly how a Mitsubishi ductless mini-split system works.

Step 6: Payment Options

Once you have decided on the perfect AC replacement option for you, we offer several different payment options so you can choose what works best for you..We accept cash, check, or credit cards.  We also work with a couple different financing companies, and even provide the option of getting a new AC system for no money down with 0% financing for 18 months.

We also have our BOSS Freedom Plan, which allows you to essentially lease an AC unit for 10 years or more so you don’t have to deal with all the risks that come with system ownership. We take on those risks for you, providing free repairs, free maintenance, free dispatch fees, free air filters, and more for 10 years. You get all of that for just a low monthly payment and 0% interest, allowing you to never have to worry about maintaining your system again.

Learn more about our BOSS Freedom Plan here: https://thebossservices.com/the-boss-freedom-plan/

Considering an AC Replacement? Give us a Call for a Free Consultation!

If you’re not sure if your AC system is going to make it through summer, exploring options is as easy as picking up the phone and calling 269-468-6682 for a free AC consultation with a BOSS Comfort Advisor. We serve all of West Michigan from Niles to St. Joseph to Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo with the following services: Heating, cooling, plumbing, bathroom upgrades, windows, and more!

If you would like to do more research in the meantime, we encourage you to explore our blog section on our website or do some research on a website you trust. We try to put a lot of information on our website because we feel education is key to making an informed decision. Thank you for reading our blog this week – let us know if you have any further questions by giving us a call or contacting us on our website!

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