{"id":595,"date":"2022-06-29T09:30:50","date_gmt":"2022-06-29T13:30:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barrieheatingcooling.ca\/blog\/?p=595"},"modified":"2026-01-13T09:04:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T14:04:25","slug":"7-questions-to-ask-when-buying-a-new-central-air-conditioner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barrieheatingcooling.ca\/blog\/7-questions-to-ask-when-buying-a-new-central-air-conditioner\/","title":{"rendered":"7 questions to ask when buying a new central air conditioner"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Here are some of the most important questions you should be asking when you\u2019re looking at getting a new AC from an HVAC contractor.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What size do I need?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the key to ensuring your comfort level throughout the summer. The wrong-sized unit, either too big or too small can make you very uncomfortable, all summer long. Your HVAC specialist should be able to provide you with an accurate size system for your home, considering your existing furnace size, ductwork sizing, number of people, and a variety of other factors. Lastly, they should be conducting a heat loss\/gain to verify the sizing and ensure you\u2019re going to have a cool and comfortable summer.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do I need a single-stage, 2-stage or variable speed compressor?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This depends largely on your type of home and your goals, reducing utilities, <a href=\"\/hvac-services\/comfort-club\">maintaining<\/a> your optimum humidity level, dealing with problematic areas within the home, and others. If you are simply replacing your existing <a href=\"\/hvac-services\/air-conditioning\">Air conditioner<\/a> and reusing your existing furnace, then you will most likely be limited with your options. Single-stage would be the most common for this type of application. A 2-stage system often requires a paired furnace or air handler and will deliver more comfort, lower utilities, and less of a temperature swing. Variable-speed <a href=\"\/hvac-services\/air-conditioning\">air conditioning<\/a> is the pinnacle of comfort, with the highest efficiencies and the most temperature and humidity control, delivering over 40+ stages of cooling.\u00a0 This requires a paired system with a matching furnace and thermostat. The system is constantly communicating to ensure peak performance.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you offer 24\/7 emergency service?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Does the company offer 24\/7 emergency service? Based on my friend Murphy and his law, plus years of experience in the industry, your HVAC system will rarely go down during banking hours. It\u2019s very often a Friday night or Saturday when you\u2019re expecting company. Warranty is great, but if they are only available during banking hours, then it\u2019s not very helpful.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Will the new AC be compatible with my existing furnace?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You want to ensure that you\u2019re getting an AC that will be compatible with your existing HVAC system. Installing a variable-speed AC unit, for example, with a furnace that can only deliver 2-stages is a huge waste of money and won\u2019t deliver the type of comfort or efficiency you\u2019re paying for. The HVAC specialist should be able to explain and guarantee this.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Do you have flexible payment options, including 0% interest?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Typically replacing your AC unit was not planned or budgeted for. It often happens after you\u2019ve just made a large purchase and now you don\u2019t have the extra money. Often tight finances can cause panicked decision-making that can lead to negative results. Going with the cheapest option from a company you\u2019ve never heard of, paying with your credit card with a 19% interest rate, will end up costing you more in the end. You won\u2019t get the high-quality installation, the top-notch level of customer service, the highest efficiency, or the optimal comfort you and your family deserve. You want to ensure you get the system you want with a low or 0% interest rate, where you can be comfortable and confident with your purchase.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How many technicians do you have at your company?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I would anticipate that most people haven\u2019t thought about this one before, but it\u2019s another important question to be asking. Let\u2019s think about it for a minute, if a company only has 1 or 2 technicians, chances are they will not be around when you need them, they simply don\u2019t have the capacity or maybe they decided to enjoy the summer and take a vacation, with lead times 1-2 weeks out. Ensure your company of choice has enough technicians so that you feel confident that they are going to be able to take care of you and your family when you need them most.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How long have you been in business?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This question can tell you a lot about a company quickly. If they have been around for many years, then there\u2019s a good chance they have been doing something right. They have a long list of satisfied clients, great ratings, exceptional customer service, flexible payment options, and more. \u00a0There are a ton of new companies popping up every day and, unfortunately, are gone just as fast.\u00a0 You made the rushed decision to purchase from them, after all they were slightly cheaper, and now they are nowhere to be found when you need them to <a href=\"\/hvac-services\/furnace-air-conditioner-repair-barrie\">repair<\/a> the newly installed system.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are some of the most important questions you should be asking when you\u2019re looking at getting a new AC from an HVAC contractor. What size do I need? This is the key to ensuring your comfort level throughout the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/barrieheatingcooling.ca\/blog\/7-questions-to-ask-when-buying-a-new-central-air-conditioner\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-595","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-air-conditioning"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>7 questions to ask when buying a new central air conditioner<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heating &amp; Cooling Barrie | Affordable Comfort - Barrie HVAC, Electrical &amp; Plumbing Services\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/barrieheatingcooling.ca\/blog\/7-questions-to-ask-when-buying-a-new-central-air-conditioner\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"7 questions to ask when buying a new central air conditioner\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heating &amp; 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