Choosing a new furnace, heat pump, air conditioner, or thermostat for your Forney, Texas, home isn’t always as easy as it sounds. You need a unit that keeps up with your demand for heating and cooling, while also keeping costs to a minimum. Fortunately, you have plenty of options that will provide excellent comfort and other features you’ll enjoy. By knowing the terminology, benefits, and other information about HVAC systems, you can pick the perfect new HVAC system for your home.
Understand the Terminology
Buying an HVAC system without knowing the terminology is a lot like buying a car when you don’t know anything about engines or fuel economy. You might look for something with all the bells and whistles, but at its core, it might not be the right unit for your home.
Air Conditioner and Heat Pump Ratings
If you’re searching for an air conditioner or heat pump to tackle your cooling load during summer, you should familiarize yourself with SEER. Also known as a Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio, this rating, which typically ranges from nine to 23, is calculated by dividing the cooling output per season by the electric energy input over the same time frame. The higher the number, the more efficient the air conditioner is.
Because it both heats and cools, a heat pump has more than one rating. Like an air conditioner, it has a SEER rating for its cooling power, and it also gets a Heating Season Performance Factor, or HSPF. This is also known as a COP, or Coefficient of Performance. Similar to a SEER rating but for heating, the HSPF is the total heat output divided by the total electric energy input. The minimum HSPF mandated by the government is 7.7, but a solid choice usually goes up to about 10. For a quality heat pump, look for an HSPF of 10 with a SEER around 15.
Furnace Ratings
A furnace has yet another measurement of performance known as Annual Fuel Use Efficiency, or AFUE. To determine this rating, manufacturers take the total amount of useful, heating BTUs (British Thermal Units) per 100 BTUs. The minimum AFUE is 78, mid-range units have an AFUE of 83, while high-efficiency offerings have a rating between 90 and 97.
Get Quotes
Now that you understand the efficiency ratios for your HVAC components, it’s far easier to determine which unit works for your needs. The next step is to get a quote from reputable installation vendors, whether it’s for new construction or a total replacement in your current home.
Don’t settle on just one quote for your installation needs. Instead, ask around to see which vendor fits your budget. In many instances, you should contact us first, as our quotes are on par with the industry average. However, we always do the job one better. With our service, you not only get expert installation, but a calculation load to determine the proper size for your unit, as well as a commitment to energy efficiency that we build with your general contractor. The result is a unit that runs efficiently, while also keeping up with you needs.
Take a Look at the Warranty
Even if an HVAC unit has an excellent SEER, HSPF, or AFUE rating, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s the perfect unit for you. One way to give yourself some extra peace of mind is to find a unit with an extended warranty. This protects you against the off-chance that it has a breakdown of some kind or needs a repair.
It’s also worth noting that your warranty usually requires you to get an annual tuneup or maintenance each year. Without this tuneup, you can unknowingly void the warranty of your HVAC unit, leaving you at the mercy of the system. If you’re the forgetful type, you may just want to sign up for our preventive maintenance program, which takes the guesswork out of tuneups.
Buying and installing a new or replacement HVAC unit for your home is no simple matter, with many costs and factors to consider. However, we make the entire process easy and quick for your convenience. Call Willard Cooling, Heating, Plumbing, & Electrical today at 972-564-9785 for all your installation needs.
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