Before You Buy a New Heat Pump Read This

By: Norman Fleming

Today the price of energy is rising with no end in sight. As we're all more strapped for cash it's more important then ever to make sure that you're getting everything you can when you spend your hard earned dollar. Whether your present home heating/air conditioning system is old, or whether you're considering a new heating and air conditioning system you should always do some homework before you spend your money. Having a new heat pump system put in your home will cost $5,000 and up. A new gas furnace can cost even more.

Luckily for those of us who are looking to replace old heating and air conditioning systems today's models are more energy efficient than models just ten years old. Heat pump systems are far superior and can actually cost 40% less to run than an outdated system. If you've an old heat pump system you probably feel that it never warms efficiently. Even more pleasant with today's newer models is that when you want cold air the air truly comes out of the system cold, and if you want heat the air will be hot.

Before you spend your money and choose a system you'll want to educate yourself about ratings. You'll be introduced to SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio). Pay attention to it. The higher the SEER rating the more efficient the unit will be. Unfortunately increased SEER ratings go hand in hand with an overall increased price for the unit. One thing you'll need to consider is how long you plan to live in your present home. YOu'll want to balance out savings vs. cost. The longer you plan to live in your home the longer you'll have to recoup the savings in your electric bills.

Talk with your friends and family to see who they may have used if they've recently had heat pumps installed. Contact several different manufacturers to see what costs are. Some of the most trusted home heating installers are Trane, American Standard, Lennox, AirPro, Thermal Zone, Grandaire and Guardian. Compare the size of the units, add-ons and warranties. It's also important that you feel comfortable that the salesman and the installer are familiar with the units they sell. You should never feel pressured and should always get an estimate in writing.

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.

Another way to make sure that you get your money's worth is to buy the proper sized window air conditioner. Believe it or not, you can buy a unit that is too big. If a window air conditioner is oversized it will cool the air too quickly and not run long enough to pull humidity out of the room. You'll be very disappointed because you'll have a cool and wet room. Don't let a salesman talk you into too big of a unit. All it will do is cool inefficiently. It's very easy to measure how many BTU's a unit must be. Once you measure look into well known brands such as Kenmore, Frigidare, GE, Sharp, Sunbeam, LG, Fedders, and Whirlpool.

Article Source: http://www.dxarticle.com

About the author: Norman Fleming is a home heating and air conditioning expert. He has information about DIY home heating and window air conditioners and portable air conditioners on his site.
This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.

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