Frequently Asked Questions

The SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) is how the efficiency of your heating and cooling equipment is measured. The SEER is the amount of cooling your system will deliver per dollar spent on electricity, as compared to other systems. For example, a 3-ton unit may have a SEER efficiency rating of 13, 14, or 15. The higher the SEER the more efficient the system will be. The SEER rating of any given unit can range anywhere from 13 to 21.

Your heating and cooling systems work incredibly hard to perform their functions for your home every day. The constant stopping, starting and continual operation can wear down any machine if the proper care and maintenance is delayed. However, by performing regular maintenance, you can maximize the lifecycle of your heating or cooling unit and guard against many common equipment failures. Preventive maintenance inspections performed on a regular basis can uncover leaks, rust, rot, soot, frayed wires and corroded electrical contacts. You should have maintenance completed on your system regularly to ensure maximum efficiency and prevent possible problems that may occur in the near future. Check out our Comfort Protection Club to see how we can help with this!

Heat pumps, air conditioners, furnaces and air handlers require a professional tune-up twice a year; in the spring and fall. Inspections on boiler and furnace systems should include ductwork, pipes, dampers, valves, the chimney, registers, radiators, pumps, blowers, fuel lines, oil tank and every part of the actual furnace and boiler. Meanwhile, heat pump and air conditioning unit inspections should also include inspections of the fan, compressor, indoor coils, outdoor coils, and refrigerant lines.

There are many factors that affect the sizing and specifications of your system, including square footage, insulation, window surface and configuration, geographic location of your home, duct sizing and arrangement, and many others. We can perform an in-home load analysis to determine which equipment combinations will perfectly suit your home and your family’s needs. Depending upon the construction of your home, one (1) ton of air conditioning can cool anywhere from 300 to 800 square feet of home. The only way to ensure the size of the system you purchase will be large enough to heat or cool your home, but not any larger than you need, is to have your home’s individual heating and cooling needs to be evaluated by a licensed professional.

Under the standard factory warranty, Trane covers parts that fail during the warranty period due to defect in the part. The warranty does not cover labor. A warranty certificate was included with your homeowner information packet and is specific to the model numbers, serial numbers and installation dates of your products. All Trane equipment that we install is registered with Trane Corporation to ensure your 10-year parts warranty. If you cannot find your warranty certificate, we will also be able to provide you with that information. With a Total Comfort Plan, you’ll have a ten-year parts and labor warranty on your Trane equipment.

Each home is a little different. You only need to change the filter when it’s too dirty to let air through. Pets, dirt, and dust can cause you to need to replace your filter more often. If you are unsure how often to replace your filter, take it out and hold it up to the light. If you are not seeing light through it, you are not getting enough air through it. At a minimum replace your filter at the beginning of a new season, during the spring and fall. When you replace it, if it is very dirty, try replacing it every 3 months. The purpose of the filter is to keep dirt and debris from damaging the internal components of your cooling system while still allowing enough air to move through the system. A dirty filter causes more strain on the electrical components causing them to fail sooner and your energy bill to be higher than it needs to be.

There are a couple of different levels of troubleshooting. Basic troubleshooting that anyone can do if they know what to check, and advanced troubleshooting that most people are not trained to do. Be careful how much you attempt on your own, it is easy to get in over your head and do more damage than good. We made this video to show you some easy air conditioner troubleshooting steps you can try before paying a technician to come to your home. These are the most common, preventable things our HVAC service technicians come across.

Ask yourself these 4 questions and then, based on your answers, make a decision.

How broken is it? This can range from “ok” to “it won’t turn on”. After you have an HVAC technician look at it they should be able to tell you if it is minor or major.
How old is your air conditioner?10 is the magic number, that is what they say the life expectancy is for air conditioners, give or take a few years. The closer you get to that age, take that into consideration.
How often is it breaking down? Frequency matters. If you have an 8 year old air conditioner that is breaking down every year, it is probably only going to get worse.
How much do the repairs cost? This is where personal preference comes into play. You have to weigh the costs of repairs and how often you’re having to make those repairs vs what it would cost to replace your air conditioner.

According to energy.gov, 6% of the electricity we generate goes to cooling our homes, costing consumers $29 billion a year. So the best way to reduce your cooling bill is to use your AC less, here are a few suggestions.

Adjust your thermostat up a few degrees. Most of us use our air conditioners to beat the heat but it would cost a little less if, maybe, we used them to take the edge off. The feeling of hot and cold is all relative. So in the hottest parts of the summer when it’s 100 outside, maybe you don’t need to cool the house to 68 to feel comfortable, maybe 75 or 80 would feel a lot cooler than 100 but cost less.
During the hottest parts of the day, cover the windows that the sun is shining into. Sometimes our windows can act as a magnifying glass and superheat those rooms. Draw the shades or find something to block those rays.
Turn on ceiling fans. Turning your ceiling fans on can create a breeze that evaporates the moisture from our skin and gives you a cool feeling. It doesn’t really change the temperature in the room but it feels like it does.
Don’t add a lot of humidity into the room. Humid air retains heat more than dry air. If you have a whole home humidifier, turn it off for the summer. If you have a room humidifier or defuser, use it less.
Upgrade to a high-efficiency air conditioner. Once it’s time to replace your air conditioner, ask the technician that meets with you show you more energy efficient models. They cost a little more upfront but same you more on your electric bill. You may even qualify for rebates and incentives from the manufacturer or the utility company.

If you have the fan setting on your thermostat set to “on” or “run”, causing it to run all the time, it may just be that the compressor has cycled off and there is nothing wrong. You can try adjusting the thermostat down and see if the air conditioner kicks on.

The other option is that something is not broken and it needs to be diagnosed to figure out what is causing the problem. It could be a lot of different things; frozen coils, refrigerant, bad compressor, a capacitor that has gone out, etc.

Before you pay a company to come to look at it, try these simple troubleshooting steps. You might be causing your own problem and not even realize it.

It depends. It is possible your problem is a lack of insulation in the attic or uninsulated windows. It is also possible that your air conditioner is undersized or the ductwork in your home is undersized. You could also need more return air vents.

If you suspect the issue is with your air conditioner, the first step would be to have a technician come to your home and make sure everything is sized properly, the air conditioner and the ductwork. They will also check things like the refrigerant levels to make sure they are not too low or too high.

If the problem is with the ductwork, it can be fixed. Many times it is messy and requires a lot of drywall patching and repainting. It may be that the best solution is a new ductless technology called a mini-split system. One of our HVAC supervisors can show you what options are available and the price of each option. This visit is free and there is no obligation to buy.

It only cost $59 to get a certified HVAC technician to your home to diagnose and troubleshoot your air conditioner. They will find out why your air conditioner is not working and then give you options to repair it. Check out our Specials page to find all of our current offers!

They will arrive in a truck stocked with all the parts and tools to start your repair while still at your home, unless the situation is unusual. Once you approve the work, your HVAC technician will begin. Most of the time your air conditioner repair is completed the same day we arrive.

The magic of how your air conditioner works are the refrigerant and the coils inside and outside of the home that remove heat and moisture from the air. Airflow is key in the whole process. We made this video to explain the basics of how an air conditioner works. Our hope is that with a little information and understanding you will be able to make better-informed decisions when it comes to repairing and replacing your air conditioner when the time arrives.

Whenever mold grows, wherever it grows, it releases spores up and into the air. Nearly 50% of the air your family breathes each day first originated in the crawl space. This means that those mold spores are in the air. When your family breathes them in, it can cause a wide variety of serious health problems, including: respiratory problems, asthma attacks, skin rashes, eye irritation, allergies, coughing, sneezing, or cold/flu-like symptoms.

4.8 Google Rating

(opens in a new tab)

What Our Customers Are Saying

Very good people person and very polite,shows you the parts he replaced and tells you what it does/what is bad.

Kenneth Glenn

3 days ago

Silas was amazing. Very professional and knowledgeable.

Jessica R

4 days ago

Great service timely and professional

Linda Johnson

5 days ago

Technician was great- punctual and a good communicator. And very nice! But quote was ridiculously high. More than $1k higher than two other quotes received.

Andrea Redden

5 days ago

Gregg was fantastic and provided ample explanations, descriptions, and suggestions. He was very thorough and professional, good stuff!

Gmb1t

6 days ago

Friendly and communicative

Sarah Powell

6 days ago

Always a pleasure to have your professional service representative in our home.

Barbara Soucy

6 days ago

We had a technician come out to check out pipes and leaking in the basement. The technician was very detailed, Honest and friendly. Gave us a price breakdown on everything that needed to be fixed. We were happy with the outcome .

Jay

6 days ago

09/15/2026
Today we had the pleasure of Yovani (technician) to do our semi-annual service! We feel a genuine connection with Yovani and trust him to always do an exceptional job! Never fails to impress! He is very friendly, professional and truly a wonderful person. Thank you again for another great job!!!

07/18/2025
I was fortunate to receive a call first thing this morning and Yovani (technician) arrived. Wonderful, friendly and extremely knowledgeable tech found our HVAC had froze due to air filters with too high a Merv rating-stopping airflow! Hope we can have Yovani come for all of our service calls! Explained and showed us everything. Really impressive! Thank you.

07/17/2025
We noticed our house was getting very warm. Sadly it was 5:00 p.m. and my temperature on my thermostat read 79. We are elderly and have health issues so heat sensitive. After troubleshooting without it turning on I called their after hrs service around 5:15 p.m. lady said someone would call me. 30 minutes later hadn’t heard from anyone so called to double check. This different lady has no idea why other lady told me that, they are booked for this evening. So someone will call me tomorrow morning or I can book an appointment on-line. We have a warranty, pay for their service plan and our system is a little over 1 yr old, serviced May 12th. We are extremely disappointed in lack of support and mixed communication.

05/12/25
Bryce was our serviceman today for our HVAC system. Very nice, informative gentleman whom presented us with fantastic customer service. He explained the need and difference between a UV Light Filter system and bulbless filter system to prevent mold growth inside of our 1 yr old unit.
We appreciated the information and assistance in him installing the bulbless filter system for us today. Always friendly personnel whether calling for an appointment, them calling me to keep me posted on when the service tech will arrive or the service tech themselves. A+ rating from us.

10/23/24 Excellant work by Hunter! Always friendly, helpful and installed a surge protector along with routine maintenance on our unit. Everyone at this company goes above and beyond. Even Suzanne this morning while confirming my appointment. Highly recommend this company.

Today I was greeted in such a fantastic way by a wonderful receptionist whom made our appointment for an exceptional serviceman (Silas) to trouble shoot our 17 yr old HVAC system. He was extremely thorough, explained and showed us so many issues missed by others. How refreshing to have such a friendly, knowledgeable person, help us! Silas put us in contact with another outstanding gentleman (Tommy) to help us with our new HVAC system purchase. We truly appreciated the genuine care he took in meeting our personal needs. He definitely made this process so much easier. Today we had the opportunity to meet Johnny and Cody whom installed our new HVAC system and thermostat! They were on time, very friendly, extremely knowledgeable, walked us through everything, kept us informed, left everything very clean, just a great team of people! This company seems to have hit gold and I think we as customers are extremely lucky to be the benefactors. So much so, we decided to change out our 17 yr old hot water heater now too! I personally do not want to wait until I have no hot water! We are looking forward to doing business with this company for many years to come! So happy we found you! We personally highly recommend this company for all your heating and air conditioning needs,

Sherree Martinez

6 days ago

Their service was exceptional,
competent, polite and trustworthy

Dale Goff

1 week ago

From start to finish they were great. I was getting a 30 year old HVAC system replaced and adding in a second system (mini split). Scott was very thorough going thorough the options available to me and also quickly responded to some follow up questions I had after he left. He did not use any high pressure tactics at all. The install teams were great as well - Johnny, Joey, Cory, Cole, and the apprentice whose name I didn't hear (sorry if I missed anyone or spelled a name wrong!). They did the entire install in less than a work day, cleaned up after themselves, made sure to explain everything I needed to know before they left, and worked with me to help manage my muliti pet household. Pricing was reasonable and matched the quality of work. I highly recommend them.

Jillian Kreiman

1 week ago

They do electric work now! Scheduling and getting an estimate was very simple, and the electrician (Jacob) was very prompt, professional, and answered all my questions.👍

Griffan Parker

1 week ago

The HVAC guy found a leaking pipe and saved us a big hassle later on.

yozila l

1 week ago

Great company, great prices and service in less than 24 hours. The manager was efficient and communicative, the office provided updates on statuses, and the technicians were timely, courteous and answered all of my questions. Proud to be a member, thank you so much!

Marcella Allen

2 weeks ago

Tech was very professional and friendly. He explained everything thoroughly and provided multiple options.

Ashley Jones

2 weeks ago

Very knowledgeable and professional, Silas did an excellent job with servicing our system and explaining everything that is recommended. Great job, Silas

Stuart Blackwell

2 weeks ago

My technician was extremely professional and I commend his impeccable customer service qualities. The attention and care given to me by him was insurmountable! He went above and beyond and exceeded my expectations!
I’m HIGHLY SATISFIED!!

Denaya Jordan

2 weeks ago

Bryce seemed very knowledgeable and competent. Very pleasant gentleman.

Sara Deringer

2 weeks ago

Our Service Area

Proudly Serving Central Virginia

Providing HVAC, plumbing, electrical, and crawl space services to the following neighborhoods around Central Virginia:

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Heating

Air Conditioning

Crawl Space

What is the SEER Rating?

Why is the SEER rating on the Energy Guide different than what my dealer quoted?

Why should I have preventative maintenance? And how often should I have it performed?

What equipment requires preventative maintenance?

My outdoor unit won’t come on.

Which Trane equipment will best fit my home?

Where can I get parts for my Trane equipment?

What does my warranty cover?

My furnace isn’t heating up and the fault light keeps blinking.

My furnace clicks but does not fire.

My furnace comes on at random times and blows cold air. Why?

Why can’t I find the correct size furnace filter at my local home improvement store?

How often do I need to change my air filters?

The air ducts are getting air into every room. Why is that?

The fan works but the air doesn’t get cooler.

How do I troubleshoot my air conditioner?

What are some common reasons air conditioners stop working?

How do I know if it’s time to replace my air conditioner?

How long does it take to install and air conditioner?

How do I save money cooling my home?

What should I set my thermostat to?

What are the advantages of a programmable thermostat?

Why is my air conditioner not blowing cold air?

My house doesn’t cool evenly. How do I get rid of hot spots?

How much does it cost to diagnose my air conditioner?

How does an air conditioner work?

Why Do I Need to Keep My Crawl Space Dry?

How Important is the Crawl Space Below My Home?

What Does it Matter if There is Mold in My Crawl Space? It’s Not Like I Spend Any Time Down There!

Why Should I Worry About the Humidity Levels in My Crawl Space?

What is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

How Long Does the Encapsulation Process Take?

What Our Customers Are Saying

Proudly Serving Central Virginia