We all love the sound of that right? Saving money anywhere you can no days is pretty high on all our priority lists. The intent of this article is to help you do exactly that so if you are in need of a new heating/cooling system or in need of new duct work, this article is for you.
HVAC in eastern North Carolina can be somewhat seasonal in the sense of workflow. Anyone in our industry will tell you that the summer and dead middle of winter are the busy seasons while the remainder of the year tends to be a little slow. Business isn't dead, but it certainly slows down around October and continues that way until about late December. It's times like these that consumers can take advantage and save some serious cash.
Let's start with manufacturer's and there role in this. Manufacturer's make money by selling equipment and during the slower times, equipment doesn't sell like it does in peak demand seasons, so they often promote spending by offering instant rebates. Most of the time these rebates are less than $1k, but that adds up especially as this article continues. This year is especially beneficial in this aspect as Jan 1, 2025 we can no longer install 410A (status quo) split systems, so any distributor/contractors sitting on inventory of 410A equipment will likely be willing to make a deal to move this equipment.
In business we pay close attention to our balance sheets and during the slower seasons "cash on hand" tends to diminish. Cash on hand is very important as it's a strong asset in terms of business' getting loans for expansion which is something many HVAC companies are looking for before the next busy season happens. This can play into your favor as a consumer if you are able to pay cash for new equipment or duct work. Many contractors are willing to cut there margins to have cash flow and a little extra towards the bottom line. Paying cash can save you as much as $1k on a new system and as much as $400 on new duct work.
Even if you don't have cash, many contractors are willing to cut margins just to drum up some extra business during these slower times. In the middle of summer, no one is begging for business with most contractors scheduling at least a few days to even a week out so margins stay at a desired level to not only grow the business, but build the nest egg for the slower season. In the slower season, we often cut those margins and bump business operations into neutral so to say. Lets say you needed a new 3 ton split system and you got a quote in the middle of summer for $12k to replace that equipment, it's very likely that during the slower season you could get that same system installed for as little as $10k. I think it's fair to say you could save as much as $2k (on higher quality equipment) just for buying when the time was right.
The last tip to saving money is government incentives. Right now the federal government is running a program called the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that gives major tax breaks for all kinds of energy saving upgrades especially HVAC. Typically you would have to purchase 16 Seer or higher efficiency equipment to take advantage of this, but the savings can add up drastically. I had a client that purchased (2) 18 Seer units last year and because of the IRA, he was able to get a $4k tax credit.
I'll end this with a scenario that will bring all this together... If you needed a 3 ton split heat pump and you got quoted $14k for a 17 Seer2, you could offer to pay cash if they drop it to $13k, apply for any instant rebates (lets assume $400) taking it down to $12,600; and get the IRA tax credit of $2k, you would only actually pay $10,600 saving you over $3k. This was exactly what happened to my client who purchased the 18 Seer equipment last year. Those saving really add up and while $10k seems like a lot of money, $14k is much more... what would you do with an extra $3,000.00?
Kenneth Casebier
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