Any piece of commercial HVAC equipment is a significant investment. You’ll want to keep it running for as long as possible. You’re not only keeping the people on your property safe, comfortable, and happy, but you’re also saving yourself money on repairs and early replacement.

The warranty that comes with your system helps to ensure it stays running for as long as possible. But, if you don’t do things by the book, you run the risk of it no longer being valid.

When that happens, you may find yourself with a massive, unexpected expense that you thought was covered. Even worse, you may suddenly have to replace a large unit you purchased only a few years ago.

Fortunately, it’s easy to make sure everything is in order when it comes to any manufacturer’s guarantee on your building’s heating and cooling system.

More than anything, it’s just a matter of taking a few simple steps and avoiding shortcuts. If you know what you’re looking for, it doesn’t take much time or effort at all.

Let’s look at what you can do to make sure everything is in line, and why things can go wrong if you don’t follow these steps.

Keep your commercial HVAC warranty valid with regular service

One of the most important steps to keeping your commercial HVAC warranty valid is having it serviced regularly. Almost every brand requires you to maintain it correctly and on schedule. Read the fine print on your agreement, and you’ll find it there. If you don’t do this, the manufacturer is off the hook for any problems down the line. Regular service means:

• Having the system checked and maintained annually
• Hiring licensed professionals do the work
• Making sure you have documentation

You probably hear a lot from your heating and cooling contractor about annual check-ups, tune-ups, cleanings, and the like.

Regular maintenance does much more than keep your system running smoothly. It also makes sure you’re not liable for more than you should be.

Now, it’s not just enough to have anyone come in and take a look at your equipment. Read that fine print again. You need:

• Someone certified to work on that particular unit
• Documentation of the service call and maintenance

We’ll get into those certifications in a little while. For now, let’s focus on the documentation.

Think about it: if you contact your manufacturer for a whole new unit or even a few parts, they won’t just take your word for it that you kept it in good condition.

You need to make sure you have the proper documents from your technician showing the work they performed.

This way, you can provide them quickly to the manufacturer and avoid any delays in getting your problem fixed. A certified professional will know what paperwork you need. If electronic documentation is available that’s usually easy to store and have in case you ever need it. 

Make sure the work is done by licensed professionals

It goes without saying that you’d only have a company with positive reviews and an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau work on your equipment.

But, believe it or not, that’s actually not enough for a manufacturer’s guarantee. You also have to make sure they’re licensed to work on the brand you’re using.

Take a look at the Bovio website. You’ll see a long list of names of logos on there. We didn’t post those for show.

Each brand is listed because we have the proper certifications to work on their equipment.

We’ll note as well that those certifications are above and beyond the bare minimum for any contractor. These are in addition to general certifications, business licenses, insurance, and similar documents.

Of course, hiring a company that’s approved to work on your system has advantages for you as well as the company you bought it from.

For starters, there’s a better guarantee that the work will be done properly. And, that begins when you buy the equipment.

For a warranty to be valid, the system must be installed the right way in the first place.

If there’s a problem with how the unit is set up, the manufacturer may end up off the hook when you need them.

Next, you want to make sure the warranty is registered. It’s a simple step, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to forget about this.

For a manufacturer to guarantee the parts and performance of your system, they need to have a record of it in their files.

Again, it’s a problem that can come back to haunt you years after you installed the unit. But, with a company like Bovio, it’s not an issue. It’s something we handle on our end for you.

Beware! Using the wrong parts cancels a manufacturer’s guarantee

We’ve talked a lot here about how important it is to use the technician for your commercial system. Well, that’s something you need to do all the time, no matter what you’re working with. Otherwise, you run the risk of canceling the warranty.

It’s all too easy to make a mistake with a DIY repair. Even if the unit works fine for a long time, you can run into trouble if you:

• Used the wrong off-brand or aftermarket parts
• Installed a mismatched part
• Ordered equipment for someone else to install

Aftermarket or off-brand parts can be tempting because they’ll save you money upfront. But, you may end up paying for that decision later on.

There are important differences between aftermarket and original equipment manufacturer, or OEM parts.

The company that made the original unit produces OEM replacement parts for it. After that, other companies are also licensed to produce products that will work in place of OEM parts.

The most apparent difference is the price: Aftermarket is cheaper. But, OEM parts are generally considered to be of higher quality. So, manufacturers require them.

As long as your unit is covered, you should only use OEM parts for replacements.

Once the coverage ends and the unit is getting older, you can ask your tech about going aftermarket instead.

Now, there’s a similar problem with mismatched parts. This is another reason why you want a certified tech: Sometimes it’s possible to use the wrong, albeit very similar, replacement part.

Finally, you may be tempted to buy the equipment yourself and have a tech install it for you. The thinking goes that you’ll save money upfront by avoiding any markups.

But, most HVAC won’t companies don’t work with parts they didn’t purchase themselves. There’s too much risk with there being a problem they can’t control.

You’d be surprised how many issues they can head off thanks to their relationship with their distributor.

And, the manufacturer won’t accept it, either. Those service documents can clue them into any dealings like this.

And, again, this is a problem that’s easy to avoid if you use the right heating and cooling company. As long as you’re careful and follow the rules, you’ll be confident that the manufacturer’s guarantee on your equipment will be there when you need it.

Bovio is certified to work with dozens of name brands. Contact us today for repairs, replacement, or routine maintenance.

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