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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. 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 Heat pump systems are far superior and can actually cost 40% less to run than an outdated system.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. 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. While you're making your decision there are things you can do to help make your home more energy efficient. Caulk and weather strip around doorways and windows. If you can see daylight between a door and the frame you're losing valuable heat and air conditioning. Add a ceiling fan which will help pull hot air up in the summer and force it down in the winter. Replace your old thermostat with a new and much more accurate digital thermostat. Most home heating experts advise against any type of DIY heating. It's generally a task that is over the heads of most DIY homeowners. Installing a heat pump means updating sheet metal and your electric box. You'll need to have refrigeration gauges to check the final pressures in the unit. It's too much. Also, think about warranty coverage. Rudd and Goodman sell installation kits for heat pumps and air conditioning systems. If you're comfortable with it you can try to install it, but what if you have a problem? Who do you call? It's generally not worth the money you'll save. 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.
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About the author: Norman Fleming is a home heating expert. To learn about DIY home heating and window air conditioners and portable air conditioners visit his site. This article is available as a unique content article with free reprint rights.
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