Prepare For Your Heat Pump Evaluation

Our home assessment and HVAC diagnostic evaluation aims to provide you with the knowledge and understanding to choose the best possible heat pump for your home. In order to accurately design your heat pump system, we will listen to your experiences and also need access to all of your HVAC system ranging from electrical to duct ends.

Please read through the quick list below and contact us with any questions before we arrive.

How to prepare for a successful Heat pump evaluation

Let’s Get Ready For An Awesome Heat Pump Evaluation Visit!

Please go through the following list to prepare your home for diagnostic tests before we arrive.

1. Note All of Your HVAC System Wants and Complaints.

Is your winter heating cost really high? Are there cold or hot spots that are uncomfortable in your home? Did your last HVAC contractor leave you with problems you want corrected? Write it all down and keep it handy to discuss when we arrive.

2. Uncover All of Your Ducts, Returns and Supplies.

Covered ducts are technically blocked off, and are restricting airflow, often done to limit the effects of an oversized furnace. As we measure airflow through ductwork, blocked vents will limit: 1) performance, 2) heat delivered, 3) uniformity of temperature, 4) pressure distributions, and also 5) accuracy of heat pump design. Uncovering your ducts will increase heat pump performance, temperature uniformity and comfort as well as increase lifecycle.

Our duct testing protocols will require access to your vents, specifically to meet design needs and some rebate protocols. Please uncover any vents that have furniture, rugs, or other obstructions to airflow.

Please tell us if there are any ducts which you plan to keep covered indefinitely. We will include these in our design, and inform you of the impacts on running costs, performance and possibly rebates.

3. Putting Rebate Priorities Out Front

System design is at the heart of maximizing your heat pump rebates. While the rebates are sizable, they also come with strict requirements on system design and performance, testing and validation.

Our heat pump home evaluation protocols are designed to maximize rebate success. Thank you for helping us do our best work!

a successful Heat pump evaluation

4. Please Read Through Our Pre-Eval Checklist

Please read through the rest of these preparations for our visit to ensure the evaluation goes smoothly:

  • Identify Existing HVAC Equipment – Take note of the type, age and condition of your current heating and cooling system(s), including your thermostat(s) location(s).
  • Attic, Crawlspaces and Basements – Similar to the attic, we need to have access and clear visuals into the crawlspace and basement areas to identify any unconditioned ductwork or potential design issues.
  • Mechanical Room Access – To test for system health, safety, proper airflow, and more, we’ll need access to the mechanical room where your HVAC system is located. Please remove any hazards and provide clear access to these systems. Note that we may be drilling small pilot holes in order to insert measurement probes into the air flow ductwork. We will seal these holes when complete.
  • Describe Home Layout – Be ready to discuss the layout of your home including: square footage, number of floors, and any areas that need special attention such as finished basements, sunrooms or additions perhaps with different construction history than the original home.
  • List Upcoming Renovations – Please share any planned renovations or home improvements such as insulation upgrades, window replacements, air sealing, etc. that could impact your home heating performance.
  • Communicate Your Preferences – Let us know about your preferences for temperatures at night and day, as well as features like zoning, smart thermostats, low-noise operation, and be ready to tell us about your long term energy goals.
  • Electrical System – Please communicate any issues or changes you have in your electrical panel and system, especially if changes are planned or completed.
  • Questions – Write down any questions or concerns you have about heat pumps, such as efficiency, rebates, costs to operate, maintenance, and more.

5. Plan For Some Noise and Change In Temperature

In order for us to conduct proper testing, we’ll need to use and will be using many pieces of specialized equipment. We’ll also need to be turning on and off your HVAC/air conditioning/heating system. It may get noisy and little warm/cool for a few minutes when we test your HVAC system.

We just want to let you know that your normal flow might be affected a bit during the evaluation. We appreciate you allowing us to conduct the testing according to our diagnostic standards, and also any requirements needed by local or utility authorities so that you can maximize rebates as well.

6. Contact Us With Any Questions or Concerns

Do you have any questions or concerns before our visit? Please use our Contact Us and we’ll address any you have!

We’re excited to help you with our heat pump home evaluation!

7. Get Ready For Your Audit Report!

There is a lot of data, design options, and information we collect in order to accurately plan you heat pump system. We will do several calculations and modeling of your home in order to build a full heat pump design and proposal for you. This will take us a few days to do. We’ll email your proposal packet when finished, and follow up with you to discuss!