Most HVAC complaints are not about the equipment. They are about installation, and about contractors who were never qualified to do the work in the first place.

Check the licence first

Gas work in Canada requires a licensed technician, and licensing is provincial. Ask for the number and check it. A contractor who hesitates has told you what you needed to know.

Insurance

Liability insurance and workers’ compensation coverage both matter. Without them, an accident in your home can become your problem.

Three written quotes, itemised. Not verbal, not a number on the back of a card.

Questions worth asking

Who does the actual installation — employees or subcontractors? What is the labour warranty? Will they perform a load calculation, or size the unit from the old one? Sizing from the outgoing furnace repeats whatever mistake was made last time.

Reviews, read properly

Look at how a company answers its bad reviews, not how many good ones it has. That is where the character shows.