Inviting a contractor to complete works in and around your home is a very personal thing. You want assurance that whoever that contractor is, and whoever it employs, has your best interests at heart. Will they recommend the right solutions? Will they respect you and your property? Will they complete the work to a high standard? These are all concerns for any type of contract work, including the installation of domestic air conditioning systems.
So how do you choose who to trust? Gut feeling goes a long way, but you should also go through any quote provided thoroughly, as this will give you a good idea of the kind of contractor you’re dealing with.
With that in mind, this post outlines everything you can expect in a quote from Loughborough Air Conditioning, and what it means to you as a customer. We hope you find it useful not only as an insight into the service we provide, but also as a guide when comparing quotes from other AC contractors.
All of our quotes start with a clear and transparent breakdown of the costs involved. This is the first thing you should look for, as if you don’t receive an itemised quotation you cannot make a like for like comparison, nor can you be sure that you won’t encounter hidden costs along the way.
We’ll list our recommended solutions for each of the rooms shown to us, with a price for each system, and a total cost. These prices will include the supply, delivery, installation and commissioning of each system.
A word of caution here. Never accept an over-the-phone quotation. There are many factors that need to be considered when selecting an AC system for any room, and an accurate quote simply cannot be given without first seeing the space or spaces involved.
As well as transparent pricing for what’s included, we’ll also alert you to other factors you may need to consider, like building or decorating works. When budgeting for a project, it’s easy to overlook these additional aspects and focus only on the cost of the AC installation itself. Whilst we can’t provide quotes for these activities, we can draw your attention to them so you can arrive at a more realistic budget.
If the project requires electrical works not covered in our quotation, we’ll provide details on what is required, and an estimated cost should you choose to use one of our qualified electrical sub-contractors.
Here we’ll give you details on what your system is covered for by way of parts and labour - both under your contract with us, and under your manufacturer warranty. We’ll also inform you of any requirements here. In most cases this is an annual maintenance visit to validate the extended parts cover of a manufacturer warranty.
As part of your quotation, we’ll provide the Seasonal Energy Efficiency of the recommended units, as well as guidance on what this means. This is a vital piece of information, as it helps you understand the ongoing cost of your air conditioning system, and its environmental impact. It also gives you peace of mind that the recommendations made are for your long term benefit, not the short term gain of your contractor.
In this section, we’ll walk you through the processes involved in your installation, and the legislative standards we work to. We do this to give our customers assurance that the service they’ll receive will be of the highest quality, and in line with all current legal requirements.
Not every contractor will give this level of detail. If you’re in any doubt as to the quality of service they’ll provide, look beyond your quote for further information. Refer to their website and look for any accreditations they hold, in particular those pertaining to the correct controls of F-Gas. As a bare minimum they should hold a valid REFCOM certificate, which should be available for you to access.
Regardless of whether you choose to work with us or not, we hope that gives you a good idea of what to look for when comparing air conditioning quotes, and the standards of service you should expect of those you appoint to complete your project.
