Home / Heating and cooling
Hiring an HVAC contractor: what to check first
License, permit, inspection. Three checks that take a few minutes and tell you most of what you need to know before work starts. Pick your city for the local details.
Calls are answered by an independent provider that serves your ZIP code. You decide whether to hire.
- Answered by a local provider
- Matched to your ZIP code
- Hiring is your decision
Guides by city
- Nashville, TNDavidson County
- Murfreesboro, TNRutherford County
- Huntsville, ALMadison County
- Birmingham, ALJefferson County
- Montgomery, ALMontgomery County
- Decatur, ALMorgan County
- Auburn, ALLee County
- Opelika, ALLee County
Questions to ask before you hire
- What is your license or certification number? Look it up before the visit.
- Does this job need a mechanical permit here, and will you pull it?
- How did you work out the size of the new system?
- Is the diagnosis fee credited toward the repair if I go ahead?
- Can I have the scope, the equipment model numbers and the price in writing?
Problems and costs, explained
Air conditioner running but not coolingA system that runs but does not cool is usually short of airflow or short of refrigerant. One of those you can check yourself.
Ice on the air conditionerIce on the lines or the coil means the system is running too cold, and that is almost always airflow or refrigerant.
Air conditioner leaking water insideAn air conditioner pulls water out of the air all day. A leak indoors means that water has lost its way out.
Furnace not turning onMost no-heat calls turn out to be a setting, a switch or a filter. A few are not, and those are the ones to take seriously.
Air conditioner making a loud noiseA new noise is the system telling you something changed. Which noise it is narrows the cause a great deal.
Air conditioner turning on and offA system that runs for a few minutes, stops and starts again never gets the house comfortable and wears itself out doing it.- What an AC capacitor replacement costs, and whyThe capacitor is one of the smallest parts in the outdoor unit and one of the most often replaced. Most of the bill is the visit, not the part.
- AC compressor replacement: repair or replace the systemThe compressor is the most expensive part of an air conditioner. Whether to replace it or the whole system depends on three facts about your unit.
- Heat pump installation: what drives the costA heat pump heats and cools with one system. The equipment is only part of the quote; the house it goes into decides the rest.
- Furnace replacement: what drives the costFurnace quotes differ mostly on efficiency and on how much of the old installation can stay.
Jobs people call about
- Air conditioner repairA system that runs without cooling, ices up, leaks water indoors or trips its breaker.
- Heating repairA furnace or heat pump that will not start, blows cold air or shuts off after a few minutes.
- System replacementA new furnace, air conditioner or heat pump, sized to the house. Ask how the size was worked out.
- Heat pump installationReplacing a furnace and air conditioner with one system, or adding one to a house that had neither.
- DuctworkLeaking, crushed or undersized ducts, and rooms that never reach the set temperature.
- Seasonal maintenanceA check of the system before summer or winter, with the findings written down.
About this site
Is ProDoorstep an HVAC company?
No. ProDoorstep is a guide and a connection service. When you call, you are connected with an independent heating and cooling provider that serves your ZIP code.
Who do I pay for the work?
The provider you hire. ProDoorstep does not perform work, set prices or collect payment for jobs.
How do I check the contractor's license?
Ask for the number and look it up with the state office linked on this page before the visit.
Does replacing a unit need a permit?
Rules differ by city and county. The office named on your city page is the one to ask for your address.
Talk to a local HVAC contractor
One call. You describe the job, and the provider that serves your ZIP code takes it from there.