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by heatpumpfan
1198 days ago
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Are you able to say more about that? "We will have local contractors" sounds great but in my area I don't think you will be able to find anyone to work with you. The local contractors and supply houses have closed ranks to fend off internet sales. I can't even buy sheet metal from the local supply houses without presenting an HVAC license. These folks are seeing their livelihoods threatened by a looming shift toward the "appliance" model (which I for one surely welcome) so they would see partnering to service a model like this as slitting their own throats. |
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Trying to bust into the HVAC company cartel will be the death of this idea. Most HVAC companies are highly local and have built their business around partnerships with supply houses and the US big-boy manufacturers (e.g. Carrier, Trane, Lennox). The Asian brands (Mitsubishi, Midea, Gree) have taken years to start penetrating the US market, and even then, many have done so through partnerships with the above US brands.
No reputable HVAC company is going to install a 'no name' dotcom branded unit that they won't be able to service with parts from their local supply house. They, and their suppliers, won't be getting the typical kickbacks or be able to mark up the unit costs and they likely won't offer any kind of warranty (at least on labor). To them, this is no different from Joe Homeowner ordering his MrCool/Goodman unit online and expecting them to install and service it for a low hourly fee. It's not worth their time or potential risk when the customer raises a stink a year later when that company reminds them they have zero warranty and parts aren't readily available.