The right furnace and air conditioning installation contractor can make all the difference when it comes to safety, reliability and longevity.

Here are just a couple of pictures that we saw in peoples homes and we were shocked too.

The first two photos have to do with condensation from the heating and cooling equipment. An example of this is that the more efficient furnaces create water as a result of the engineering to make it efficient.  Air conditioning also creates water from cooling the air with water in it creating condensation.  The water from these units need to be transported outdoors or down a sanitary drain.  This requires PVC pipe and sometimes a condensate pump to pump it away from the unit.

Picture #1:

This is a picture of a condensate pump.  If you notice there is nothing supporting this pump, so when it fills up with water it could easily fall of the ledge it is sitting on flooding the floor.  Of course it could be screwed into the plywood, but then it would just leak.

Picture #2:

This is a picture of the condensate line that is used to remove water from the unit to the outside of the home or to drain in a sanitary drain.  Why the contractor chose to use a lightbulb to support the condensate line is unknown and unheard of.  There is never a good reason to do this.

Picture #3:

It is generally accepted practice never to place the air coming out from the register near the air being returned to the furnace (don’t place the supply and the return too close together). This makes all the sense in the world why we don’t want to do this when you see the picture below.  The furnace and the air conditioning is working way too hard and the conditioned air is not going to be near the thermostat to stop the insanity.

We can all laugh at the problem installations above but this one is likely to wear out your furnace very quickly because conditioned air is being brought back in for the equipment to condition.  When this happens the safety trips and short cycles the equipment, wearing it out faster.  This set up also is contradictory to having conditioned air and comfort.

The educated and experienced HVAC contractor is the best bet for a professional job.  

If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, call us for assistance.

Cold Craft, Inc. 408.374.7292

If you need help with temperature, contact Cold Craft, Inc.

408.374.7292 or [email protected]