What "lifetime" can honestly mean

Whose lifetime

The lifetime of the system, the lifetime of the homeowner ownership, or the lifetime of the business. These are three very different promises, and the third is the one that quietly expires.

Homeowners are told to ask for the answer in writing, and that a guarantee tied to the business continuing to operate is worth exactly as much as the business continuing to operate. That is not an accusation; it is what the words mean.

What is actually covered

Three things get conflated: the workmanship, the components, and the performance. A workmanship guarantee covers the installation. A component guarantee usually passes through a manufacturer term. A performance guarantee promises a result, which is the only one of the three that requires ongoing measurement to be meaningful.

We tell homeowners that a guarantee covering all three is unusual and worth paying for, and that one which is vague about which of the three it means is the common case.

• Workmanship — the installation itself, for a stated period.
• Components — usually a manufacturer term passed through, not extended.
• Performance — a stated result, which requires a retest to enforce.
• Labour on a covered repair, which is frequently excluded separately.

What a performance guarantee needs to be enforceable

A promise to keep a house below a figure only means something if somebody measures. So an enforceable performance guarantee names the threshold, says who pays for the confirming measurement, says how often, and says what happens if the measurement comes back above the figure.

Homeowners are told that a performance guarantee with no measurement provision is not enforceable, and that this is the single most common gap. A contractor who closes it is offering something the homeowner can actually use.

What voids it, and whether it transfers

Common exclusions are legitimate: foundation alterations, unauthorised modification of the system, a fan replaced by someone else, structural changes that alter the suction field. Homeowners are told these are reasonable and to expect them written down.

Transferability is the one that affects resale. A guarantee that transfers to a subsequent owner makes a mitigated house materially easier to sell, and homeowners are told to ask whether it does, whether a fee applies, and whether notice is required within a window.

Why the honest version wins

A homeowner comparing two proposals cannot compare guarantees that are both described as "lifetime". They can compare one that specifies whose lifetime, what is covered, what voids it, and whether it transfers against one that does not — and in our content, the specified one wins.

Specificity also protects the contractor. An undefined promise is interpreted by the person invoking it, usually years later and usually generously.