If you're not a heating and cooling technician, an HVAC service quote might look like a foreign language. It's helpful to learn some terms and concepts that can help you decipher these quotes, but you should also be able to ask your technician to explain any recommended item or service.

If you have a heat pump, these are the parts you need to know about:

HVAC companies are only as good as the technicians they hire, so it's important to know what qualifications they have. Most companies will prominently display their affiliations, so it's easy to determine, but you can always ask your contractor to send a technician with specific certifications.

Preventive maintenance is essential for lengthening the life of your heating and cooling system and keeping it running efficiently. Just like with major repairs and equipment installations, you want to work with somebody you trust to handle your valuable home comfort equipment.

Finding a reputable contractor is not as simple as looking in the phone book. Ask these questions before you make your decision:

New heating and cooling equipment is a valuable investment, so it makes sense that you would want to purchase a system that is properly sized so you can get the most value for your money. Surprisingly, many homes have improperly sized home comfort systems, even when a contractor was involved in the original purchase decision. This is why load calculations are so important when you decide to install new equipment.

You have planned your vacation for months, made reservations, mapped out a route and looked forward to getting away for some much-needed relaxation. Do a little planning for your home, and you can make those relaxing days even more enjoyable.

Learning to read your electric meter is a great way to understand your home’s energy consumption, but it falls short when trying to calculate how efficiently your home is using this energy. That’s because meter readings don’t take weather data into consideration. The weather affects how much energy your home needs for heating and cooling. You can fill the information gap by learning about heating and cooling "degree days."

Do you know how the size air conditioning you need is determined? If you said only by your home's square footage, you would be wrong. That used to be the method of sizing an air conditioner (and unfortunately still is by some contractors) but not anymore. There's a scientific method that responsible heating and air technicians now use. And, the calculation even includes adding the body heat of everyone in your household.

The efficiency and performance of HVAC equipment is constantly evolving. The best way to find the most efficient and highest-rated air conditioning equipment is to look for both the Energy Star label and the air conditioner's SEER rating. 

Have you ever order out for a pizza on a crackling-cold, Norfolk MA winter evening? And, when it arrived, it was still nice and warm; so much so that the cheese was still stringy. The secret was the pizza container. It is a padded, insulated and sealed way to keep the heat of the pizza trapped inside so that it doesn't leak out.

HVAC contractors, like other businesses, can come and go. In fact, only about a third of new businesses last more than five years. Your heating and cooling equipment is the largest (and most expensive) appliance purchase for your home. When investing in such a major purchase, you need up-front information about a contractor to protect you, your purchase and your future home comfort.