Editorial & Research Policy
Where our facts come from, who checks them, and what we refuse to publish.
Most HVAC advice online is thin, recycled, or written to sell one brand. This page explains why ours should be treated differently — and gives you the means to check.
Last updated 8 September 2026.
What We Are Trying to Do
HVACPool exists to give homeowners and small commercial buyers enough understanding to hold a competent conversation with a contractor — and to recognise a bad quote when they see one. We are not trying to replace the contractor. We are trying to make you a harder customer to mislead.
Sources We Use
Technical claims are grounded in primary sources, in this order of preference:
- U.S. Department of Energy and the Energy Information Administration
- ENERGY STAR product criteria and certified product lists
- The AHRI Directory of Certified Product Performance
- The HVI Certified Products Directory, for ventilation airflow and sone ratings
- ACCA manuals — Manual J, S and D — for load calculation, equipment selection and duct design
- ASHRAE standards and handbooks
- Manufacturer engineering data and installation manuals, as distinct from manufacturer marketing
Competitor blog posts and retailer marketing copy are not sources. Manufacturer copy is never reproduced — we read the engineering documentation and write our own account of it.
How We Handle Numbers
This is where most HVAC content fails, so it is worth being explicit.
We do not invent figures. Every efficiency rating we quote is traceable to a certified directory entry for a specific model. If we cannot trace it, it does not go on the page.
Where a value depends on your building, we teach the method instead of stating a number. A single BTU figure or tonnage would be wrong for most readers, so we explain what drives it and give a range. Capacity comes from a load calculation, not from an article.
We distinguish a rating from a promise. Certified ratings usually apply to a specific indoor and outdoor combination, and real-world performance depends heavily on installation quality. We say so rather than implying the nameplate number is what you will get.
Prices are marked as indicative. HVAC pricing moves by region, season, distributor and installation complexity. Nothing on this site is a quotation.
Technical Review
Any page covering combustion, refrigerant, electrical work or code compliance is reviewed by a working HVAC professional holding a current licence or certification relevant to that subject, before it is published.
Reviewed pages carry the reviewer’s name, their credential and the date of review. A reviewer can send a page back, and does. See Authors & Reviewers for who they are and how the process runs.
Independence
Affiliate relationships and commission rates play no part in what we recommend or how we rank options, and the person writing a guide does not know its commercial value. We accept no payment for inclusion, placement, ranking or a favourable conclusion. Full detail is in our Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure.
Updates and Corrections
Efficiency minimums, refrigerant regulations and incentive programmes change. Every page is reviewed at least annually, and immediately when a relevant rule changes. Each page shows when it was last reviewed.
When we get something wrong we fix it and say so. Substantive corrections are noted at the foot of the article with the date and a description of what changed. We do not quietly edit an error out of existence and pretend it was never there.
Report an error: corrections@hvacpool.com.
What We Will Not Publish
Step-by-step instructions for work that legally requires a licensed trade — gas, flue, refrigerant handling, mains electrical. Sizing recommendations presented as a substitute for a load calculation. Efficiency or savings claims we cannot trace to a certified source. Prices presented as quotations. Manufacturer copy under our byline.
Use of AI Tools
AI tools may assist with research, outlining and drafting. Every published page is edited and fact-checked by a person against the primary sources listed above, and technical pages go through professional review before publication. No page is published straight from a model’s output.
Contact
Editorial questions: editorial@hvacpool.com.