So the time has come to update your home heating and air conditioning system. It's a decision that every homeowner wants to put off as long as possible, but who wants to get caught without heat or air conditioning if it breaks down? Don't wait that long. You'll also want time to investigate before you choose a new unit for your home. There are many different things to consider before you spend $5,000 or more. Today's gas furnaces and heat pump units are much more efficient than units that are just ten years old. For a lot of us unfortunately heat pumps, which worked well in warmer climates somehow made their way north where they barely work at all. Today's heat pumps are far superior and can cost 40% less to run than older systems. Whatever type of heating or air conditioning you're replacing check the SEER rating. SEER or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio is a gauge of how efficient and cost effective the unit will be. The higher the SEER the more energy efficient it is. The higher the SEER rating the more expensive the unit is too. You'll want to try to balance out cost and efficiency. Talk to professional installers before you choose a system so that you can get several estimates to choose from. Some of the most trusted heat pump manufacturers and installers are Lennox, American Standard, Trane, AirPro, Bryant, Thermal Zone, Guardian, Goodman, Grandaire and Carrier. It's always a good idea to talk with family and friends to see who they may have used to update their heating system and what type of experience they've had.Visit one of the many online sites where you can learn about SEER ratings and EnergyStar ratings. Visit Consumer Guide and the EPA site or the American Council for Energy Efficient Economy. There are also some simple steps and fixes that you can make around your home to make it more energy efficient. How is the insulation in your home? Your attic and basement should be adequately insulated, it's easy to add. Check the weather stripping around all of your doors. If you can see daylight between your door and the frame you're loosing money. Caulk around windows. Add a ceiling fan. A ceiling fan moves air and helps year round. In the summer months it cools a room by pulling warm air up, and in winter it forces heat down into a room. A humidifier that adds a bit of moisture to your air will help your home feel warmer in the winter. Also, it's likely that your old thermostat is inaccurate. Update your thermostat to a new digital model. Some homeowners ask about DIY heating. Rudd and Goodman do sell full installation kits for heat pumps and air conditioning systems. You may be able to save several thousand dollars but what about the actual installation? Generally you need to replace sheet metal and update your electrical service. You'll need the proper gauges to measure pressure inside the unit. It's not worth it. The reason you pay a professional is that he knows what he's doing and the work is guaranteed. What good is a unit that you can't have serviced? One type of DIY heating is solar. Solar panels are relatively easy for those with DIY experience to install. There are many different makes of solar panels for passive solar power, they are Carmanah, Duralite Global Solar, Kyocera, Mitsubishi, Photowatt, Schott, Schuco, Shell, Sun Power, Sun Tech, SunWize, Uni-Solar, Webel and Yingli. Depending on the size you want panels can be bought by watt, from 1 watt to 5 watts to 200 watts and greater. Best of all passive solar panels require virtually no maintenance and last for decades. If you decide to purchase a window air conditioner or portable room air conditioner make sure that you buy the correct size. Don't go without knowing exactly how many BTU your room requires. It's based on multiplying the length of your room by the width of your room to get the square footage. Buy based on square footage needs. You should take into consideration number of windows and height of ceiling. If you've lots of windows on a south facing side and very high ceilings you may want to add more BTU power. A window air conditioner that is too large will not cool efficiently.
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So the time has come to update your home heating and air conditioning system. It's a decision that every homeowner wants to put off as long as possible, but who wants to get caught without heat or air conditioning if it breaks down? Don't wait that long. You'll also want time to investigate before you choose a new unit for your home. There are many different things to consider before you spend $5,000 or more.
About the author: Norman Fleming is a home heating expert. He has information about home heating and air conditioning and window air conditioners and portable air conditioners on his site. Get your own completely unique content version of this article.
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