For the average person, replacing a furnace is a job where you would have absolutely no idea where to begin. How could you possibly hope to select the perfect system for your home if you don’t really know what you’re looking for? While there is no substitute for professional guidance when it comes to selecting your new furnace, there are a few things you should keep in mind and use as discussion points when talking with your installer about choosing the perfect replacement. In this blog, we’ll take a closer look at four of them to help you approach this process with a little more confidence.
Do You Have Any Cold/Hot Spots?
Are there any areas of your home that are particularly uncomfortable? These could be a strong indicator of a couple of different things: whether your duct system is properly handling the air it needs to, and whether your current system is the right size for your needs. Duct problems can be diagnosed with an inspection, but system size is a little bit tricker. If your system is too large, your main rooms and the areas closest to your furnace itself will be extremely warm while other areas of your home may feel cold and uncomfortable. Likewise, your system will only run for a few minutes before shutting off, only to turn on again a few minutes later.
If your furnace is too small, virtually everywhere in your home will feel cold, even though your system is running almost constantly. If you have any of these problems, we recommend telling your installation professional about them so they can work to figure out why.
How Are Your Energy Bills?
Your energy bills are a pretty big indicator as to how your HVAC system is running. If your bills are excessively high, then this could be an indicator that your current furnace is worn out. It could also be a sharp indicator that your furnace is no longer up to energy efficiency standards, and that you should consider a pretty serious upgrade. Whereas older systems may have been built to a standard of 8 or 9 SEER, modern furnaces are required to be at either 13 or 14 SEER in order to be sold and installed. This kind of jump in energy efficiency will lead to not only improved performance, but drastically reduced heating costs as well!
Are You Missing Any Key Features?
Today’s modern furnaces have a number of additional benefits and features that change the way we use them. Some furnaces have the ability to improve your air quality with additional systems. Others can communicate with you via a smart home system, or coordinate with your other appliance. Others track their energy consumption or how long it has been since you change your air filter, and notify you when something isn’t quite right. If you’re interested in any of these or any other modern HVAC amenities, let us know and we’ll help you choose a system that has them installed.
What System Do You Already Have?
Finally, the last major question is what type of heating system you already have installed. Do you already rely on a gas furnace? Are you happy with the way it has performed over the last several years? Then you likely have no reason to change? Are you concerned about carbon emissions or carbon monoxide? Then you may want to switch to an electric furnace. You should discuss these options with your HVAC expert during your initial consultation so you can figure out what type of heating system you want to install. This is an important decision, as it will impact how you heat your home (and how much this heating costs) for possibly at least the next couple of decades.
Interested in installing a new furnace? Premier Indoor Comfort Systems, LLC can get the job done for you! Give us a call at (770) 268-2422 today to discuss what you’re looking for.