Anyone who has owned a home for at least 10 years is familiar with emergency HVAC service. Emergency services are just part of the homeownership equation. But if you are new to the ranks of America’s homeowners, calling for emergency service might be something you have no experience with. You might wonder how quickly the service can be dispatched?
Imagine facing the very first winter in the home you purchased this past spring. Temperatures are sub-freezing, and you just discovered that your furnace isn’t working. You also have a spouse and baby to care for. You need an HVAC technician, and you need one fast. How quickly can he be there?
HVAC Contractors Prioritize Calls
HVAC contractors prioritize calls as they come in. According to Salt Lake City’s SameDay, a situation like the one just described would constitute an emergency. It would take priority over minor repairs, routine maintenance, etc.
SameDay says there are no hard-and-fast rules in terms of the speed at which technicians can be dispatched for emergency services. Everything depends on where technicians currently are, what they are working on, and the location of the emergency.
I did some research and discovered that most HVAC contractors offer rapid response service within 2-5 hours for legitimate emergencies. Still, there are no guarantees. If your home were just one of 20 stuck without heat in sub-freezing temperatures, you might not see service for 10-24 hours.
How Long Repairs Take
Another question homeowners typically ask is how long repairs will take. Again, there is no hard and fast rule an HVAC contractor could apply. It all depends on the nature of the problem itself. Homeowners also need to understand that emergency service may not fix the problem entirely. It may be that a technician needs to stabilize the situation and then come back later on to make a permanent repair.
My research indicated repair times as short as 30 minutes and as long as several hours. Take a burnt-out blower motor. Emergency service could get things working again with a temporary replacement motor installed in under 30 minutes. But a new motor will have to be ordered and installed later.
If the problem is a bad circuit board, there may be no way for the technician to stabilize the situation. He might also have to order the part, forcing the homeowner to take shelter elsewhere for the next 24 hours.
What Homeowners Can Do to Facilitate Faster Repairs
While it is not possible to prevent every HVAC emergency, there are things homeowners can do to limit them while simultaneously facilitating faster repairs. The best starting place is to conduct regular preventative maintenance on your system.
Even if that means scheduling maintenance with a contractor, an HVAC unit should be regularly checked for any potential malfunctions. Regularly scheduled cleaning is also a good idea. In addition, homeowners should make sure that the areas directly round their HVAC units are kept free of clutter for easy access.
Homeowners should also consider:
- Keeping an updated list of emergency contacts (HVAC, plumbing, etc.)
- Keeping spare parts on hand (filters, fuses, etc.)
- Educating family members about responding to minor emergencies
How you respond to an emergency could ultimately dictate how severe the consequences are. For example, if you know how to shut off the power in the event that your furnace starts sparking or throwing smoke, you could prevent serious damage to the unit.
HVAC emergencies are part and parcel with homeownership. If you own a home and have not yet experienced such an emergency, give it time. It is inevitable.
