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In all my years, I have never seen the HVAC industry so dead. It slows down every autumn but then picks up after a few weeks. It’s almost March and it has not yet picked up.
The two largest companies in a Maryland have one or two installs a week. Guys are getting 11 hours a week.
What’s the deal with the economy? Why are people not spending money?
I bought a new electric furnace in 2019. If I had had the foresight to buy a spare fan relay when I replaced it on the furnace many years ago, I could have kept the old furnace running. But then, if I could predict the future, I would be writing Jean Dixon's column for The National Enquirer.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Better quality so they last longer? We did a new roof and all new windows in the last year, so we are contributing to the economy, just not the HVAC industry. In our climate 1-2 window AC units work fine for the few hot weeks we get in summer.
I have a friend who handles the HVAC at a local community college and he has had plenty of work. Others in new construction are hiring more help to keep up with the Seattle condos and apartments underway. Perhaps the slump you are seeing is just in residential.
There is always no shortage of putz (plural) that never change their filters and call emergency when their A/C lines freeze or the furnace shuts down for low air flow.
Otherwise I assume capacitors still fail on A/C units and flame sensors still get dirty and fail on furnaces and other high volume failures.
In all my years, I have never seen the HVAC industry so dead. It slows down every autumn but then picks up after a few weeks. It’s almost March and it has not yet picked up.
The two largest companies in a Maryland have one or two installs a week. Guys are getting 11 hours a week.
What’s the deal with the economy? Why are people not spending money?
I don’t think it has anything to do with the economy. The laws with respect to R22 changed starting on 1/1, so many people who were hoping to change out their HVAC systems to avoid issues with recharging their older units have already replaced them. Replacing Freon had already became much more expensive as the phaseout process was happening.
That must be a local condition. There is no slowdown here and I had to make an appointment 2 1/2 weeks in advance just to get salesman out. Not the install, just the guy to see what I need and to give me a quote. it might be another month after that before I can get the actual unit.
It's another week and a half before I can find out if they even want the job.
Everyone has heat. But if you don't have central air, it's about a $6000 cost to get it, provided you already have forced air duct work for your heat. Not everyone can afford that. Portable air conditioners are very efficient and cheap, and you can cool areas selectively, instead of cooling your whole house. It may take years of energy use to recoup the initial investment for central air.
Quote:
Originally Posted by LowonLuck
In all my years, I have never seen the HVAC industry so dead. It slows down every autumn but then picks up after a few weeks. It’s almost March and it has not yet picked up.
The two largest companies in a Maryland have one or two installs a week. Guys are getting 11 hours a week.
What’s the deal with the economy? Why are people not spending money?
In all my years, I have never seen the HVAC industry so dead. It slows down every autumn but then picks up after a few weeks. It’s almost March and it has not yet picked up.
The two largest companies in a Maryland have one or two installs a week. Guys are getting 11 hours a week.
What’s the deal with the economy? Why are people not spending money?
Your fiance is in HVAC. Should he not be the person to talk to? In my area geothermal is popular. Seems to need very little maintenance just nips you a bit up front.
For a lot of areas it was not a bad winter thus people hold off with "scare maintenance".
Better quality so they last longer? We did a new roof and all new windows in the last year, so we are contributing to the economy, just not the HVAC industry. In our climate 1-2 window AC units work fine for the few hot weeks we get in summer.
I have a friend who handles the HVAC at a local community college and he has had plenty of work. Others in new construction are hiring more help to keep up with the Seattle condos and apartments underway. Perhaps the slump you are seeing is just in residential.
It is residential that I am noticing the slow down.
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