What does HVAC mean? Contractors and those who make a hobby out of home improvement throw the term around, but for some of us, it may not be obvious what they do. HVAC technicians are in high demand. If you are in need of their services, you could end up waiting days for them to come. If you are in need of an HVAC technician and they are so highly sought by people all over the country, shouldn't you know what they actually do?



HVAC is an acronym for heating, ventilating, and air conditioning. What this field boils down to is climate control. HVAC technicians, or the people who maintain and repair furnaces and air conditioning units, are in high demand today because the number of trained technicians is not growing as fast as the number of people using HVAC units. More and more Americans are installing air conditioning systems and there are probably very few people without heat in their homes. All of these systems need maintenance, just like your car, to prevent problems and to fix them when they do happen. Whether you live in Boston and can't go without heat in the winter or in Phoenix where you can't go without air conditioning in the summer, there are HVAC technicians needed to service these systems. Why is an HVAC system important to you? These systems not only ensure your comfort, but the ensure that the indoor air quality is safe for you to breathe.

Keeping your air conditioning and heating systems running each month can be the most expensive utilities you have to pay. Depending on where you live, your heating bills can be hundreds of dollars in the coldest months of the winter. An HVAC system that is not properly functioning can only add to this expense. Maintenance can help reduce your energy costs because it is running more efficiently. Advances in technology have also helped HVAC systems run more efficiently than in the past. Technologies like zoned heating, geothermal heating, and water heating have helped to bring monthly energy costs down. Forced air systems, or systems that distribute warm air through the ductwork, have been used as air conditioning systems now and then by simply circulating the air through a house, which is less expensive than installing central air conditioning.

Air conditioning systems are often rated by a system called Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). The higher this rating is, the more energy efficient the system is in your home. In the United States, any air conditioning system produced must have a 13 SEER rating, but an Energy Star unit must have a SEER rating of 14. This does not apply to window units, which are usually rated at 9, but to central air conditioning systems. A SEER rating of 13 is 30% more efficient than a unit with a rating of 9. This could mean that you save $300 a year on the cost of cooling your home!

Replacing HVAC systems can get quite expensive, so people are not likely to buy new ones on a regular basis. Therefore, you want your HVAC system to be maintained properly so it lasts as long as it possibly can. You do the same thing for your car, so why no make sure your HVAC unit runs smoothly as well?

As technology improves over time, HVAC units are becoming more and more energy efficient and are made available at costs that are more reasonable to you. However, the best way to protect your investment in your heating and cooling unit is to have it looked at by a certified HVAC professional regularly. Otherwise, a problem may mean that you have to go days without air conditioning during the summer and may end up paying a lot to have it fixed. Spend a smaller amount of money to have problems circumvented before they occur.