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What a Homebuyer HVAC Inspection Covers in Wichita

A general home inspection establishes that the heating and cooling turn on. A dedicated HVAC inspection establishes what condition they are in and how much life is left in them.

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Home Buying
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The heating and cooling equipment is usually among the most expensive things in a house that nobody looks at properly before buying it. It is behind a panel, it is unglamorous, and on the day of the general inspection it is asked to do one thing: come on.

It comes on. That is recorded, and everyone moves to the roof. Two winters later the furnace turns out to have been most of the way through its life on the day you signed, and nothing in the file said so — because nobody had been asked the question.

What the general home inspection is and is not for

This is not a criticism of home inspectors. A general inspection is a broad survey of an entire building by a generalist, and it is genuinely useful for exactly that. The standards it is carried out to are also explicit that it is visual and non-invasive: the inspector operates the equipment with its normal controls and reports what can be seen.

What that excludes is everything a heating and cooling system keeps on the inside. Nobody is opening a sealed combustion chamber, putting gauges on a refrigerant circuit or measuring static pressure across a blower during a general inspection, and nobody should expect them to.

So the two are not competing. One tells you about the house. The other tells you about the two appliances in it that cost the most to replace.

What an equipment inspection establishes

Arrow's inspection puts a technician who has spent more than twenty years replacing and repairing this equipment across both the heating and the cooling side of the system. It comes back to three things.

Condition

The actual state of what is there — the furnace or air handler, the condenser, the coil, and the ductwork it all runs through — and what the way it has been treated up to now suggests about how it has been lived with.

Expected remaining life

How much of its service life the equipment has already spent, and what that implies for the years just ahead of you. An estimate from somebody who has replaced a great many of them, rather than a number read off a chart of averages.

Anything that needs attention

What is worn, what is missing, and what would be worth doing before it turns into the reason you are ringing somebody. You get told plainly, whether or not it changes your mind about the house.

Equipment Inspection for Home BuyersAssessment and recommendations · $250

What it deliberately does not produce is a verdict on the house or a figure to wave at the other side. We have no stake in whether you buy it. The assessment reads the same either way.

Findings that are worth understanding before you sign

None of these means walk away. Each one is a thing that changes what the next few years look like, which is precisely the sort of thing worth knowing while you still have the option of asking about it.

  • Indoor and outdoor equipment that were not designed to work together, or that were installed years apart.
  • A cooling system built for a refrigerant that is being phased down, which changes what a future repair involves.
  • Evidence of the same repair having been made more than once.
  • Returns and ductwork visibly too small for the house that is now attached to them — often a sign of an addition the system never caught up with.
  • A furnace or water heater venting arrangement that has been altered at some point without the rest of it being reconsidered.
  • Equipment that has clearly not been serviced, on a system whose warranty depends on it having been.
  • Rooms that the current owner has quietly stopped trying to condition.

Fitting it into the inspection period

The practical constraint is the calendar, not the work. Inspection periods in this market are short, and they are usually already half spent by the time the general report lands and raises the question.

The way round it is to book the equipment inspection alongside the general one rather than in response to it, so both reports arrive with time left to do something about them. Tell us the address and the window you are working inside and we will fit it in where we can.

If you are buying anywhere in Wichita or the surrounding communities, the visit is the same either way — it is your calendar we are working around, not ours.

Common questions

Do I need an HVAC inspection if the house already had a general home inspection?
They answer different questions. The general inspection confirms the equipment operates and reports what is visible; it is not intended to assess the condition or remaining life of a furnace or an air conditioner, and its own standards say so. If what you want to know is how many years you are buying, that is a separate visit from somebody who works on the equipment.
What does the inspection cost?
A set rate, published on our contact page alongside the air conditioning service rate. You know the figure before anyone comes out, and it does not move depending on what is found or how long the visit runs.
Can you tell me whether to buy the house?
No, and we would be suspicious of anyone who offered to. What you get is the condition of the equipment, how much life we think is left in it, and what needs attention. What you do with that at the negotiating table, or simply in deciding what you are signing up for, is entirely your business.
Do you inspect for landlords and investors as well as owner-occupiers?
Yes. It is the same inspection and the same hour — the questions just tend to get asked differently, with more attention to what the next five years of service on a property will look like rather than how comfortable one family will be in it.

How we do it

The Straight Shot, Before You Sign

You get the same account we would give a friend: what is in good shape, what is worn, what will need replacing, and roughly what that means in practice.

It is information, delivered plainly, with nothing riding on which way you go. That is the point of paying somebody who is not part of the transaction.

Information you can use at the negotiating table, or just to know what you are signing up for.

Google Reviews

5.0 Stars on Google

Our customers talk about the same things: we show up fast, we find what’s actually wrong, and we finish when we said we would.

5.025 Google reviews — read them all
  • Reagan Faulkner

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse and his crew are amazing to work with! He was able to get my job finished quickly and efficiently! I could not recommend him enough to help you out!

  • Dale England

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse was great. Helped get everything all fixed up. Very professional. Highly recommend.

  • Michael Funke

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse came out short notice and got us back up and running and identified a few issues our previous HVAC company missed. No doubt, Arrow Heating and Air will be our "go-to" from now on.

  • Sarah Davis

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse is amazing! He is honest, fair and extremely reliable. He has been my hvac guy for 10+ and I highly recommend him!.

  • jason payne

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Very happy with Arrow are air conditioning quit on the Friday night before this 2026 Memorial weekend. I asked a buddy who to call he gave me Jesse’s number he can out an hour later got us going for a day or so. Then came out Tuesday and replaced the A coil inspected everything and got us up and running and for a fair price. I highly recommended Arrow!

  • Heather

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse has taken care of my HVAC needs for many years! He is hardworking, reliable, and very knowledgeable about all things HVAC. He will treat you fairly and give you an honest opinion of what you need. I would highly recommend him for any job or repair that you may need.

  • Timmy Colborn

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Arrow did a fantastic job, i was in need of new unit for our home and they took care of it right away. Not long after that they help with heatin my shop, they did an amazing job withthat as well.

  • Lance Bryson

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse is great. He is quick to respond and he has always been fair on pricing for repairs.

  • Rachel Westmoreland

    Rated 5 out of 5

    I started using Jesse for my heat air for our investment properties. It has been nothing but positive reviews from my tenants! He has already corrected issues that would have caused problems in the summer heat AND set blower settings on some units that were never done correctly when the unit was installed! His communication has been great, always telling me what the issue is and cost to repair.

  • Chris Gallardo

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Arrow does amazing work!! Installed a mini split for our attic space in Conway Springs.Small living quarters in the attic. Window AC could never keep up and was loud.The mini split made it so nice, quiet and cool. Cool enough to need blankets in the summer time!!Highly recommend!!

  • Brent Cleeton

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Great turn around time and great price, and the work was phenomenal and Jesse is a super nice guy

  • Jessica Hall

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Very fast and professional and very reasonable pricing, I will use them again in the future.

  • vecente6903

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Quick, honest, knowledgeable, jesse is great and does great work!

  • Jeremy Edwards

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse is our one stop shop for our collision center regarding our paint booth and compressor. Thank you from Norris Collision Center!

  • elery shively

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Great service!

  • Gina DeCoudres Dunlap

    Rated 5 out of 5

    "I can't recommend Jesse highly enough! Our AC was not working properly, and he was able to come out the same day to get it back up and running. Fast, professional, and very knowledgeable. We will definitely recommend him to everyone.

  • Sheri

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Very responsive, professional, knowledgeable and honest. Thanks!!!!

  • DOUG FAULKNER

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Great company! Called when my a/c went down and Jesse was there within 2 hrs. Honest with very fair pricing. Didn’t try to sell me anything I didn’t need. Cleaned the outside unit and replaced the filter and it’s been working great.

  • Keith Simpson

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Jesse is the best around bar none. Weather your residential or commercial he’s got you covered. Strait shooter no bs. Like is slogan says “ he’ll shoot you straight” honest and dependable. Would definitely recommend Arrow Heating and Air for all your HVAC needs

  • Staci DeGeer

    Rated 5 out of 5

    I had a great experience with Arrow Heating & Air! Jesse arrived right on time, quickly diagnosed the issue, and had everything fixed efficiently. The problem turned out to be a bad capacitor, and fortunately, he had the replacement part stocked on his truck, so I was back up and running in no time.What really stood out was that Jesse went above and beyond by taking the time to clean off my outdoor air conditioning unit to help it continue running efficiently. He was knowledgeable, capable, professional, and clearly takes pride in his work.I highly recommend Arrow Heating & Air for anyone needing fast, reliable, and high-quality HVAC service!

  • Clancy Leibham

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Arrived early and found the problem within 5 min. Very knowledgeable! Will use again!

  • Kimba

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Arrow heating and air is the only HVAC company our family in Derby will ever use. From troubleshooting to complete system replacement, Jesse does what he promises, right on time at a fair price. Thank you!

  • Austin Blake

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Arrow Heating and Air Conditioning is my first and last call for any issue I run into with our HVAC system. Knowledge and skill is unparalleled. You save money when you work with someone that knows what they are doing and eliminate the guesswork. Thank you!

  • Rob Brown

    Rated 5 out of 5

    Top notch work, very fair price and fast service.

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Arrow Heating and Air Conditioning, LLC · License# BUS2025-11907

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