Got a cold room, and can’t get it warm? What point do you call a professional, both technically and legally?
As temperatures get lower, more and more of us are cranking up the heat. Despite all the convenience of modern HVAC, it seems like there's always that one room that can't get warm.
"You should have an even feel throughout the whole home," said Greg Phillips, HVAC Sales and Service Manager for Advanced Home Solutions. "If there is a temperature difference, could be something in terms of ductwork, maybe vents are shut, or an issue with the equipment."
Phillips says its normal to have some minor variations between rooms, but if its dramatic enough that you feel the need to change outfits between rooms, that's when its worth calling an expert.
Knowing if you need to call an HVAC specialist or someone else can come down to a "feel test." If you can feel heated air blowing through the vents but the room is still cold, that's most likely a insulation issue. If the vent is blowing cold, or not blowing at all, that's when you call an HVAC specialist.
"There could be some problems with the ductwork, whether it's sizing or something else," said Phillips. "A lot of times they (HVAC installers) put these things called dampers in where they can throttle the air down, and sometimes when they install, they forget to open them. And sometimes when they use flexible duct versus hard pipe, it could be pinched or cut off."
Phillips says most HVAC installers will work with customers to get their homes as comfortable as possible.
There are rare instances though where people have had thousands of dollars of work done and their homes still aren't comfortable. Attorney Preston Atamanczyk, Owner and Managing Attorney of Idaho Consumer Law says their may be legal options.
"The law states that, any product or service that somebody represents, but that product or service is not what they represented it to be, then that potential violates that consumer protection act," said Atamanczyk.
Atamanczyk says a key is to have everything in writing.
"There has to be an actual contract between the parties before the Consumer Protection Act can be utilized," said Atamanczyk. "And they (the consumer) also have to incur damages. Usually that's in the form of monetary damages. If they have those two things, then they can file a claim."
Even then, Atamanczyk says in most cases he encourages parties to settle their dispute without getting the courts involved, as it can be a lengthy process.
