Home Inspection Questions - Heating and Cooling (part 3)

This is the last part of a series covering some major questions to ask your home inspector. We’ve already covered home exteriors and electrical. This post will focus on heating and cooling systems.

Heating and Cooling

Find out what type of heating system is installed. Basically, most heating systems fall into two categories: furnaces and boilers. Furnaces will heat the air and distribute it with fans and ductwork. Boilers heat water and distribute heat with pipes and pumps through radiators.

Does your heater have a SEER rating or AFUE rating? The SEER rating indicates the efficiency of the system. Higher SEER ratings equal a more efficient unit meaning lower energy costs for you. The AFUE rating is between 0 and 100. Higher AFUE ratings mean more energy is utilized for heating and less escapes as exhaust.

Make sure you are comfortable turning the unit on and off. Learn what kind of maintenance is required (i.e. cleaning, changing filters). Spend a little time with the thermostat. Programmable thermostats are worthwhile but can be confusing at first. Be sure your comfortable operating it. Find out if it’s hard-wired or battery powered. If your heating unit won’t come on, check the thermostat first. It may simply need new batteries.

Find out the age of the air conditioner. Average life expectancy is around 12 years. A new compressor is like a new motor for a car. But be careful as generic brand compressors are cheap replacements that won’t last. Only use manufacturer approved replacements.

Ducts should be cleaned and inspected periodically. For the majority of homes, once every three years is adequate. Find out the last time the previous owner had it done. Cleaning your ducts (especially laundry vents) eliminates fire hazards and allergens.

What do you think? What did you discover about your HVAC system? What kind of problems did your inspector find?
Image courtesy of Justin Baeder