Arkansas HVACR NewsMagazine November 2024

News Magazine November 2024

FEATURE STORY

Disclaimer?? Health & Safety Rule In a previous issue we sent you a possible disclaimer to use when the homeowner couldn’t or wouldn’t allow you to fix the duct when doing a change out. Notice, I said “possible” disclaimer. That means a disclaimer may be as valuable as the paper it is written on and maybe not that. I did not write it and, not being a lawyer, it wouldn’t do you much good anyway. I do have a word to the wise. Remember that health and safety rule. We have rules and regs that want us to install a perfectly matched system that meets performance and efficiency specifications. Well, those standards are lab established and without a proper duct system attached to your perfectly matched equipment, “It Ain’t Gonna Meet Mfg Specifications.” So, what are we to do? Thus, the offered disclaimer. We included it again on the next page. It is not designed as a “get out of jail card” as in monopoly. It is simply a way of making the homeowners admit that you gave them important information and that their choice is an integral part of the final performance of the system. We can’t blame the homeowner. They only have so much money and systems are so expensive that a system and a duct job could easily run $20,000. They need air and heat, so what are you to do. You can’t just walk away and tell them they are too poor to have heat and air. We have

to be transparent. “The system the homeowner can afford and that you can install will not perform to full factory specifications.” It might be good to inform them of the possibility up front and then run the numbers on the system as installed. They bought a 16 but it is only working like a 14 because the return air is too small and the duct leaks like a sieve. Who knows--they might decide to sell their first born to bring it up to capacity. (Just a joke. It only seems like that at today’s prices.) Point is, when we install equipment, the first, second, and last priority is health and safety. We cannot compromise on an installation if it is not 100% safe. I seriously doubt any disclaimer will be honored if you knowingly install equipment that creates a safety hazard; but, you would not do that anyway. No need to say more.