Homeowner guide
Know your system
Comfort, explained plainly. Work out what you have, read its data plate and use the right words, so your request reaches the right lane first time.
Guide at a glance
- Identify
- Furnace, heat pump or ductless
- Find
- The equipment data plate
- Learn
- Thermostat terms
Which system do I have?
Most homes have one of these three. Look for the indoor and outdoor parts described.
Furnace with central air
- Where it lives
- Furnace indoors (basement, closet or attic); a separate outdoor AC unit.
- What it does
- The furnace heats; the AC cools through the same ducts.
- Your tasks
- Filter checks, clear vents, outdoor unit clear.
- Common issues
- Most fit 01 Repair.
Heat pump
- Where it lives
- An outdoor unit plus an indoor air handler, sometimes with a furnace as backup.
- What it does
- Heats and cools by moving heat in or out of the home.
- Your tasks
- Filter checks, outdoor unit clear of snow and leaves.
- Common issues
- Most fit 01 Repair; both seasonal checks apply.
Ductless mini-split
- Where it lives
- Wall units indoors, a small outdoor unit outside.
- What it does
- Heats and cools individual rooms without ducts.
- Your tasks
- Clean the indoor unit filters as the maker advises.
- Common issues
- Most fit 01 Repair.
Reading the equipment data plate
Every furnace, outdoor unit and air handler has a metal or printed label, usually on a side panel or inside the access door. It lists the model, serial number and often the manufacture date.
Tip: photograph it before you request service. It answers many of our questions before the visit.
Don't remove panels to find it. If it isn't visible, we'll find it on the visit.
Example only: not a real unit
- Model
- NDX-EXAMPLE-01
- Serial
- EX 0000 0000
- Mfd
- Month and year appear here
- Volts
- Electrical rating here
- Refrigerant
- Type and charge here
Thermostat basics
- Heat, Cool and Auto
- Heat and Cool run one mode. Auto switches between them to hold your settings.
- Fan On or Auto
- On runs the fan all the time. Auto runs it only while heating or cooling.
- Aux heat
- On a heat pump, backup heat that helps in very cold weather.
- EM heat
- Short for emergency heat: a thermostat setting name on some heat pumps that runs the backup heat alone. It is a setting, not an emergency service.
Plain-language glossary
- BTU
- A unit of heat. Equipment capacity is often given in BTUs per hour.
- Tonnage
- A cooling capacity measure for air conditioners and heat pumps.
- AFUE
- An efficiency rating for furnaces.
- SEER2 and HSPF2
- Efficiency rating names used in some markets, for cooling and heat pump heating.
- Refrigerant
- The fluid that carries heat between the indoor and outdoor parts.
- Condensate
- Water removed from the air during cooling, carried away by a drain line.
Safe checks and what to leave to a technician are on the repair page.
Know what you have? Tell us
Pick a lane on the request form, or try the booking sandbox.