For last few years, the heating industry has waged a “warranty war” with the various furnace brands offering longer and longer parts warranties. We have seen the standard five year warranty become seven then ten then twelve. Some have even resorted to gimmicks such as a "lifetime warranty" or a "money-back guarantee." It has become increasingly difficult for the consumer to know how much weight to give the parts warranty when choosing a new system. Here are two major warranty issues to consider when researching for an hvac investment.


Does a homeowner save money by having a parts warranty?
Many costs incurred by the contractor are not covered by the factory. The contractor must file time-consuming claim paperwork, pay all shipping & handling charges, pay for return freight for the defective parts, and sometimes even a warranty processing fee to the parts distributor. In many cases, these overhead costs are more than the price of the part. For the contractor to stay in business, these costs must be passed on to the homeowner in addition to normal labor for the repair. In the end, small repairs are more expensive if a parts warranty is filed. Of course, a warranty comes in handy when you need to replace a compressor or evaporator coil.

Can you find a servicer to honor the parts warranty?
Some of the lower quality brands have a long warranty, but a very difficult claim process. Unless dealers are desperate for work, they may refuse to service these warranties. The best hvac brands have online claim processing that is smooth and efficient. We've found the most dealer-friendly warranty processing to be with Trane and Lennox with their rapid online claim systems. The ease of warranty handling with other brands is determined by the local distributors.


My advice is to pay more attention to the quality of the product and installation than to the parts warranty. Most all brands on the market today have long warranties. The difference between a ten year and twelve year warranty is very little. Most “lifetime” warranties or "satisfaction guarantees" have so many catches that the factory will rarely be forced to honor them. Find a high quality brand and a reputable dealer and you won't need a gimmicky warranty. Good hvac contractors will always stand behind their work because their reputation depends on satisfied customers.

In the Miami Valley there are three utility companies offering rebates. The purpose of the rebates is to drive higher efficiency across the region which in turn will reduce the load on our power plants and distributions lines. The rebates available to you depend on where you live and who supplies your power.


For the Dayton area (including parts of Springboro and Waynesville):
DP&L provides a rebate for a new air conditioner if your old a/c is still working or is easily repairable (similar to a trade-in). If your current a/c is not operational and is more than 20 years old, the following rebates are reduced by half.

$600 for 16 SEER air conditioner or heat pump
$400 for 14 SEER air conditioner or heat pump

This rebate is provided instantly as a discount on your invoice, and is refunded to the HVAC contractor within a couple weeks.
(For an explanation of SEER, see our FAQs)


Vectren’s rebate applies to gas appliances.

$200 for a 92% AFUE gas furnace
$500 for a 90% AFUE gas boiler

This is a mail-in rebate (we supply the forms), and takes 4-6 weeks to receive a check.



For the area south of Dayton from Springboro through Cincinnati:
Duke Energy provides both natural gas and electricity to many homeowners in this region.

$200 for a 14 SEER air conditioner if it includes an ECM blower motor
$200 for a 95% AFUE gas furnace

This rebate is filed by our office. Our customers typically receive their rebate check within 10 days.
The Duke rebate is not available to customers who buy their electricity from the City of Lebanon.


Our people are trained to get you the maximum rebate available, and we take care of all the paperwork so that it’s a seamless process. If you have any questions, please call us.