FAQs

Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning

Just like a “light year” is a measurement of distance (not time), a “ton” in this industry is a measurement of energy needed, rather than weight. A ton in this context is the amount of energy needed to melt a ton of ice in a 24-hour period.

North American Technician Excellence, the professional certification body for heating and air conditioning technicians.

A calculation process for determining the amount of heating and air conditioning required to heat or cool a house. Most load calculations are based on “Manual J” from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.

Air conditioning equipment that typically sits outside a house, containing a condenser coil and compressor. The compressor raises the pressure of refrigerant vapor and the condenser coil converts the refrigerant vapor to liquid.

The indoor coil of an air conditioner where liquid refrigerant evaporates, drawing heat from the surrounding air, “cooling” the air. In a “packaged” system, all components are located in a single, outside unit.

Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning

North American Technician Excellence, the professional certification body for heating and air conditioning technicians.

A calculation process for determining the amount of heating and air conditioning required to heat or cool a house. Most load calculations are based on “Manual J” from the Air Conditioning Contractors of America.

Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, a measure of heating efficiency. A higher AFUE denotes higher efficiency. The current minimum is 80%.

British thermal unit, a measure of energy equal to the amount of heat required to raise one pound of water by 1ºF. A Btu is approximately the same as the energy contained in a burning match stick. A BTUh is the number of BTUs used in one hour.

When asking “How much is a new one?,” you need to consider both the quality of appliance you can afford as a replacement and the option of having your existing appliance properly repaired by a competent professional. SoBellas Home Services can diagnose and evaluate your appliance to determine if it’s in your best interest to repair or replace it and make a recommendation accordingly. Also, another cost associated with buying a new appliance is the price.” That is, the aggravation and time spent that goes along with shopping for a new appliance, having it delivered, getting it installed and disposing of your old one. If you’ve experienced this joy recently, you’ll realize that the price factor can be a very significant cost.

If you are comparing having your existing machine repaired or replacing it with a machine that is comparable in price with what you paid for your machine 10 or so years ago, you will not be making a valid comparison. The equipment is neither similar in quality nor durability for the same price. If you were to merely replace your existing household appliance with one that costs about what you paid a decade ago, you’ll be repairing or junking the new machine every three to four years. You’ll either have to pay more up front for a new, high-quality machine that will give you another 10 years of trouble-free operation or you pay less up front for a low-end machine and then pay-as-you-go for repairs.

It is very possible that you are using more detergent than is necessary for the load size you are washing. Double check the detergent instructions to ensure you are using the correct amount.

On average, a large load of clothes should only take around 45 minutes to dry completely. If you are noticing that your clothes are averaging more than 1 hour to dry, you might want to have your dryer vent system checked.

Our fee includes sending a licensed, screened and trained technician to your house in a fully stocked truck. The charges also cover the technicians time diagnosing the issue with your faulty equipment. The fee to do all this is $95.00 plus tax.

Our labor on any repair is good for one year. The warranty on any part we replace is 5 years. There are some exclusions, see our warranty page for more details.

We try to stay away from this due to not knowing the origin of the part or the real issue with the appliance. We will on a case by case basis, but there is no warranty. If the part we install does not work you will still owe us all repair fees.

Our trip charge and diagnostic fee is $95.00 for all residential home services. This fee is applied towards the repair cost if you choose to fix the problem. We will send one of our professional technicians who is certified and background screened to your door step.

You are responsible for the trip charge or your technician’s quoted labor. Not both.

We do give free estimates. Bring your broken appliance to us and we do not charge for an estimate. We also provide free estimates for new AC equipment.

We used to offer ballpark price estimates. The problem was the estimates were usually wrong. Unfortunately in home air conditioning repair and appliance issues can run from as low as $150 all the way to several thousand dollars. There is just know way to know what the cost will be until we not only see the exact problem, but also see what caused the problem. It would be unfair to you for us to guess over the phone.

Average Cost of Appliance Repairs Repair costs can vary based on 1) the type of appliance, 2) the severity of the damage, and 3) accessibility. But, on average, here’s the range of what SoBellas Home Services repairs typically cost. Actual maximum or minimum repair costs may be more or less than those in the price ranges shown.

Dishwasher $150-$325 Stovetop $170-270 Washer and Dryer $160-$325 Microwave $200-$300 Fridge $220-$370 Oven $220-$380 HVAC System $350-$900

We stopped charging by the hour because our customers wanted to know the price up front. They didn’t like open ended pricing. We don’t charge by the hour anymore. We give you a firm quote up front, before any work begins. These quotes are based on national standard repair data. If the repair takes longer than expected, we’ll stand by the quote. You wont pay more.