Home Heating Repair or Installation

You're reading this article for advice. You are one of the hundreds of thousands of American's every year who has finally got to make the decision to replace the heat pump or gas furnace. This is a big decision. The cost of a new heat pump will start somewhere around $5,000 and go up from there depending on size and add-ons. You want to make sure that you get the most you can for your hard earned dollar so do some homework before you buy.

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.

You'll also want to get several different quotes before choosing a system. Talk to installers from trusted manufacturers such as Carrier, Grandaire, Goodman, Trane, American Standard, Lennox, AirPro, Thermal Zone and Guardian. Talk with your friends and family to see if they've had experience with having a new heat pump or gas furnace installed.

Don't forget what you can do yourself to save heating and air conditioning costs. Weather strip and caulk around doors and windows. Check the insulation in your attic and basement. Think about adding a blow in insulation in your walls. Wrap any water pipes that are in unheated basements to prevent freezing. Most dial thermostats get inaccurate over time. Install a new digital thermostat so that you can get an accurate temperature reading in your home.

Have you ever wondered if there is such as thing as DIY heating? Well, there is but it's greatly limited unless your best friend is an electrician, plumber, sheet metal worker and has all the tools to do the necessary pressure testing after installing a new unit. Unfortunately most of us don't have such a friend. Also, when a heat pump is installed it and your electric box must be inspected by State or local inspectors. A new heat pump and air conditioning unit requires careful installation that should be left to professionals.

Solar energy is a much more DIY project. You can install passive solar panels fairly easily. Solar panels can be purchased in watt power, from 1 watt to 200 watts and more. You can purchase solar panels at home stores like Home Depot and Lowe's. Some of the manufacturers of passive solar panels are Sun Power, Sun Tech, Photowatt, Mitsubishi, Kyocera, Duralite Global Solar, Carmanah and Uni-Solar to name just a few.

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.

Author: Norman Fleming is a home heating expert. For tips about home heating and air conditioning and passive solar heating on his site.
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