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Goodbye, my old friend..

Monday, February 15th, 2010

by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air

After a ten year phase out, Freon is now dead and gone forever and this change will have an impact on most every home and business in the country. Back in the early 1990′s, law was enacted that called for the phase out of CFC’s, halons, and HCFC,s due to the fact they destroy the ozone layer and are responsible for creating an ozone hole over the South Pole. Freon is an HCFC and whether you believe in the ozone issue or not, everyone who currently has an old air conditioner that runs on Freon will be affected by the phase out since the law mandated that no new Freon based a/c units can be built after January 1, 2010 and after January 1, 2015, there is a ban on the sale and use of Freon in residential use. As the production of new Freon is limited, the price of this gas is going up to the point to where if you have an old leaky a/c system that uses Freon R-22, it will be a better idea to replace your a/c system instead of spending hundreds of dollars fixing leaks and recharging the system with Freon. Freon is going to be expensive this summer and to keep adding more to a leaky system is not a good use of your money. The state of the economy has the price of new systems lower than ever before and warranties have been escalated to 10 years parts and labor making this the best of times to cut ties with your Freon based a/c system.

New units now use R410a refrigerant which is far better than Freon in removing heat and moisture and is the only refrigerant available for home use. New units can cut your electric bill by 50 percent while giving you comfort you have never known. There are tax credits available of $1500 from the federal government which will pay the cost of upgrading to the very best furnace and a/c system. You will get a variable speed furnace with a built in dehumidifier and a 16 seer a/c system that will keep your home cool and dry in the summer and an even temperature in the winter. There are also factory rebates of $1000 or 36 months same as cash to help with the cost of upgrading your comfort system.

Every year people who know they have to replace their cooling systems get estimates over the winter when business is slow and they get the best prices of the year. But instead of going ahead and getting the work done early before the warm weather arrives, they procrastinate until it get hot and contractors are already busy, then they call and try to get off season deals. The heating and cooling business is all about supply and demand. In the warm months, there is an abundance of jobs and customers waiting to have work performed and no contractor can give you a special deal because the time to do your work could be sold at full price to the next person waiting in line. Do not wait until spring to try and repair or replace your a/c if you already know you need service. Get it done early if you want the best price and experience no waiting in a hot house.

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Flooding and your Comfort Systems

Monday, October 12th, 2009

by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air

The floods that struck Atlanta brought many tragic results included the destruction of life and home for many and my heart goes out to all those affected. Sometimes one is at a loss to understand why such occurrences happen and how they become so terrible out of something so necessary such as rain. The floodwater also can have long reaching affects on our lives and safety unless properly cleaned up and treated.

Many basements and crawl spaces were flooded with water that was laden with bacteria and byproducts of sewer due to the overflowing of the drain water systems and septic tanks. This water made its way into walls, carpets, floors, and most importantly, furnaces and water heaters. The modern day furnace is lined with insulation panels that absorbed all this very dangerous and polluted water and it cannot be removed the fibrous material. These panels have to be replaced as do all the controls devices, limits, fan motors and gas valves. The furnaces have to be removed and completely taken apart and scrubbed and disinfected and by the time all the damaged parts are replaced, one would come out much better by replacing the entire furnace. The cooling coils are also insulated with fiberglass panels that soaked up this dirty infected water and should also be replaced to ensure safe indoor air quality.

Water heaters that have been under water are extremely dangerous, as they often will relight after drying out, and people assume sine they fire up and heat water, they are safe. This could not be farther from the truth, as the water and sediment that seeped in gas valves, burners and safeties can cause trouble in the days that follow the flood. One should never attempt to light a flooded water heater without a complete replacement of the controls and burners or replacement of the entire heater. These appliances are far too cheap and the consequences of a malfunction are too severe to chance using a damaged and flooded heater.

Outdoor air conditioner condensers are designed to sit outside in the rain and they faired much better in the floods than furnaces. If an outdoor unit flooded and the controls did not get immersed under water, there is a good chance the unit can be cleaned out and put back in service. If the control box and the electronics got wet, they will need to be replaced. The coils should be acid washed and thoroughly cleaned before the unit is operated.

The two mail concerns with flooded systems are safety from gas valves and controls that were damaged and dangerous indoor air quality from fecal matter and sewer water that was mixed in with the rain water. The last area of concern was ductwork and insulation that got soaked in the flood. All duct work that got saturated needs to be replaced regardless whether it’s metal or flexible. The insulation on ductwork will never dry out to properly insulate the ductwork after it has been under water, and the ducting itself can’t be properly cleaned to make sure it is clean and disinfected to not spread airborne pollutants.

The floods hurt many people and cost untold millions in damage to homes and property. Make sure you properly repair and replace your homes heating and cooling systems along with your water heating appliances to make sure you are safe and secure and all systems work as designed.

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Posted in Air Conditioning, Awards, Care and Maintenance, Commercials, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Safety, Saving Money, Uncategorized | No Comments »

New Important Tax Credit Information

Friday, August 7th, 2009

by Dan Jape of Reliable Heating & Air

There has been some exciting news in the world of tax credits and heating and air. When the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 was passed into law, it included a provision allowing a tax credit for a furnace that has a high efficiency blower motor regardless of the thermal efficiency of the gas burner section. Up until recently, the IRS was not recognizing this section of the law and was giving credit only for furnaces that were 95% efficient or greater and this limited many people’s choices, as this model was not always the best choice for everyone. They had not included this important “main air circulating fan” portion of the law failing to realize that in some parts of the country, the largest energy savings can be derived from electric savings from these special fans in 80% efficient furnaces. Now due to a recent ruling by the IRS, two more types of furnaces are now eligible to earn tax credits for the years 2009 & 2010. These are 80% efficient variable speed furnaces with two stage gas valves and 80% efficient single stage furnaces with super high efficient blowers. Both of this types of furnaces can now earn a credit by themselves and not just as a piece of a qualify system. This a great ruling coming just before the winter season when many people will be looking to replace their furnace and cannot afford to install a 95% model or can’t install one due to the type of home they own. Both of these furnaces will save hundreds of dollars a year for people and will provide much lower gas bills over an old 50% to 60% furnace.

On another note:
As we move closer to the beginning of the cooler weather, I want to alert homeowners to a safety problem that has become of epidemic proportions in the last year. Many thousands of homes have had to have their roofs replaced due to hailstorms that hit the metro area in the last couple of years and as we have been going in peoples attics to work on their heating and cooling systems we have noticed some alarming and dangerous problems that need to be brought to peoples attention before heating season arrives and they start using their furnaces. Roofing companies are inadvertently causing problems when replacing roofs by dislodging furnace flues completely and by pushing flues up against the wood decking of homes they are roofing. Most roofers do not come into the inside of the attic to check the furnace flues or chimneys when replacing roofs. We have found numerous flues knocked completely off and many more touching wood decking, which is very dangerous and a code violation. Double wall furnace flues must have 1” clearance from wood and the roofers are accidentally sliding the pipe into the wood and attaching the roof flashing in the wrong place. You can check for this problem by going into the attic with a flashlight and look for the round silver pipe coming from the either the attic furnace or up through the roof of the second floor and make sure it is not touching the decking or has been knocked completely off the furnace. If you have had your roof replaced recently and you are unsure if there is a problem, call your heating and air company to perform an inspection of your furnace flue, as there could be a situation that needs attention before heating season arrives.

Posted in Air Conditioning, Dan Jape, Going Green, Heating, Saving Money, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Change is in the (Heating &) Air

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

change is in the air

There are some real exciting changes in the heating and cooling industry and these changes are of great benefit to you personally and the country as a whole. As some of may remember, last month, I informed you about the 2009 Federal Tax Credits for Energy Efficiency program that will pay 1/3 of the cost of a new qualifying heating & cooling system for your primary residence. There are no income limits on this program and is simply to understand. Just replace your old worn out system with a new super high efficiency gas furnace or electric heat pump and you will get $1500 from the federal government. This $1500 for the most part has paid for the bulk of the increased cost of getting the top of the line system for the cost of an entry level system. Well, no more. There are a new line of units that will earn the tax credit money that will actually be cheaper than the base models.

In the past, the units that qualified for the credit were a considerable bit more expensive as they were loaded up with all the bells and whistles and these features interested some buyers while others were not enthralled with them. The great change that is so exciting and is sweeping through the heating and cooling industry is new units that qualify for the stimulus money, but that are more basic models that are not that much more expensive or cheaper than the entry level units when the credit is applied, giving even more people the option to get the credit.

In the world of air conditioners, to qualify for the $1500, the unit has to be 16 seer and above. That used to mean a special air conditioner that was two speed in it’s operation which enhanced it’s dehumidification ability and increased it’s efficiency even greater when it was in “low speed”. Well now a flood of 16 seer single speed air conditioners have come on the market and they are much more affordable than the 2 speeds. They are the same efficiency, but much less complex and will be a great addition to the line up of all companies product line. The mind set of the different manufacturing facilities in the past is that anybody that would upgrade to a 16 seer air conditioner would want a unit loaded up with all the components that make a unit expensive and complex. This new line of normal super high efficiency air conditioners will make them affordable to the normal income purchaser, not just the top 10 percent of consumers.

Furnaces have to be 95% efficient or greater to earn the tax credit and up until now, that meant a furnace with a variable speed blower and a modulating gas valve or at least a two or three stage gas valve that would allow the furnace to regulate its output of heat by demand. Well now there are new models coming on the market that do not have all these features, but still achieve the 95% annualized fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). These furnaces are much less expensive and give up some very nice comfort features, but will in the end, will make these tax credits available to a whole new group of consumers that have never been able to afford this type of super high efficiency furnace. The stimulus money now makes this type of furnace less expensive than a base model of far less afue or efficiency. Until this furnace is actually in the warehouse, one major heating company has actually dropped the price of the 95% variable speed furnace with built in dehumidification to stimulate sales until the new models arrive. Now is the time to jump on one of these super high efficient models being sold at base model prices! My assumption is when the new stripped down 95% model is available in a few months, these deluxe models will return to their normal price.

There is another product in this new law that is clearly included in the language of the law, but is not being acknowledged by the IRS and it deals with furnaces and air handlers that are super efficient in their consumption of electricity and not gas. If you go to the Department of Energy ‘s web site dealing with the new law ( www.energystar.gov ) and read the section concerning the main air circulating fan or the blower of these units, it clearly states that such product is included in the stimulus package and should be included in the $1500 credit. At this time, the IRS does not understand the difference of a high efficient gas furnace and one that is super efficient in it’s consumption of electricity. I have spoken to the IRS to try and help them understand the meaning of the new law as have many others in the industry, but they mistakenly believe the only furnace that is included is one that is gas efficient and not electrically efficient. Hopefully someone form the DOE can clarify the intent of the law to the IRS and get a ruling so this law can be enforced as written. When this happens, furnaces of any gas efficiency can be included regardless of it’s AFUE rating. What this means to you is a furnace that will save you $230 to $250 a year in electricity, remove 15% to 20% more moisture, increase the overall efficiency of your air conditioner and be cheaper than a builder grade model. This is a win win situation for all. Lets hope for a quick resolution for this one.

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Don’t fall for “FREE”

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
don't fall for free!

I have noticed a trend in advertising and marketing of service companies to stress “FREE” goods and services. It seems like when the economy gets tough, more dishonest companies spring up to try and play on the consumers emotions and bad judgment. Everyone knows there is nothing worth having that is truly free.

Good honest consumers, who are having a tough time making ends meet desperately want this “FREE” claim to be legitimate, and their common sense is put aside. They call one of these “Free” companies and are lied to about the true cost of whatever product they want. Companies that advertise “FREE” simply use that as a come-on to get in your home then they stick it to you. They generally do not employ anyone you would ever want in your home for any reason, due to fact that any honest, hard working competent person would never want to be involved in a rip-off, scam based company. The employee of these “FREE” companies are paid on commission and the more money they can get from you, the more they make. The nature of this type of transaction is not good for the homeowner due to the fact it is hard for the employee not to pad the bill to increase their own pay.

If you think about the “FREE” offer, common sense would tell you it is not possible to send a competent employee to your home in a truck to do anything “FREE”. The cost of sending an employee to your home for the first hour is somewhere around $100. This includes gas, auto insurance, wages, unemployment benefits, social security, workers comp and overhead items related to the operation of their business. If service companies truly came to your home for “FREE” they would be out of business in a week.

DO NOT fall for this age old greed-based come-on. You will receive inferior service at an inflated price, be charged for services and repairs you do not need, and be taken advantage off by people you can’t trust. Do not let your common sense fall by the wayside. THERE IS NO FREE LUNCH. I suggest that these are times when you can least afford to be taken advantage of. Your budget is tight! Do not allow them to get the better of you and believe these dishonest companies will give you something for nothing. Read the fine print, Ask a lot of question and look out for the buzz word “FREE” and ask yourself, when was the last time you saw your employer give away your goods or services for nothing.  You will pay in the end for anything promised free.

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What kind of furnace should I have installed?

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

The rising cost of gas has put many people in the market for a more efficient furnace before the cold winter weather arrives. Even though most homeowners in Atlanta have always considered their cooling bills as the place to conserve the most energy dollars, a furnace upgrade gives the best and the quickest return on investment.

There are two different furnace efficiency categories available today and there are three basic types of gas furnaces regardless of the manufacturer. The two different efficiencies are 80% AFUE and 90% AFUE and the three types are single stage, two-stage and variable speed two-stage furnaces. AFUE stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency with the higher the number denoting the most efficiency. A 80% AFUE efficient furnace is the most popular type installed in Atlanta and it uses 80 cents of a dollar’s worth of gas to heat your home and it sends 20 cents of waste up the chimney. The 80% AFUE furnace has no standing pilot light and it uses a metal exhaust pipe to vent the unburned gas and carbon monoxide fumes away from your home. It has a blower/fan called the draft inducer that injects air into the burner chamber to help the combustion process. This type of furnace will normally save 25% to 40% of the gas consumed by an old standing pilot type.A 90% AFUE furnace is so efficient that it no longer uses a metal flue pipe to take the waste products away but rather is vented right out the sidewall of your home using PVC piping and it takes fresh air for the combustion process from the outside instead of depleting the air in your home. This type of furnace is called a condensing furnace and like the 80% AFUE furnace, the 90% AFUE furnace also has no pilot and it has a draft inducer fan for a good clean burn. It has two heat exchangers to help the furnace use all but a very small amount of the gas burned to heat your home. The most efficient furnaces today are 96.7% AFUE and only waste 3.3 cents on the dollar of gas consumed. The 90% AFUE furnace is so efficient that water is condensed from the flue products and has to be disposed of in a sanitary drain or a freeze proof French drain. Within these two furnace’s categories, the three types are very similar in what it is they have to offer. The single stage furnace is what most people are used to owning and it is a furnace that regardless of what the temperature is outside, it puts the same amount of heat out constantly. When one considers that a furnace has to be large enough to warm your home on the coldest day of the year, but the winters in the southeast can fluctuate from extreme cold to moderate, it would be logical that this type of furnace will heat the home very quickly on anything but the coldest day of the year. This quick heating only heats the air in your home, not the articles, walls, floors and people. The two stage furnace solves this problem by having two stages or levels of heat that the furnace can produce; low and high. The low heat setting will allow the furnace to run longer at a lower heat output which will allow a more evenly heated home and much more comfortable occupants. The variable speed two stage furnace has two stages of heat, but combines the efficient operation of a D/C powered variable speed furnace blower to give you just the right amount of heat needed to achieve the most comfort available from any forced air natural gas furnace today. The D/C powered variable speed blower will save you over $200 a year in electrical costs while speeding up or slowing down to give you just the right amount of heat needed. One can also couple a special thermostat that has input for not only the desired temperature, but also the humidity levels one wants to maintain in their home. The thermostat adjusts the fan speed of the indoor blower and the furnace and air conditioner become what we call a Super Dehumidification System. This product can eliminate the need for a freestanding dehumidification system that I see in so many basements. In addition, any of the variable speed furnaces will earn a tax credit of $50 and the 96.7% Variable Speed Two Stage furnace will earn a tax credit of $150 from the government. Regardless of which furnace you choose, I think you will find a world of comfort and efficiency available today that will be worth every penny spent to upgrade. You simply cannot afford not to take advantage of the savings afforded you by a furnace replacement this year.

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Variable speed furnaces-the answer to high gas prices!

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

If the furnace in your home is over 10 or eleven years old, you should explore the option of replacing it with one of today’s 2- stage variable speed models with a humidity sensing thermostat. The Variable Speed Two Stage Furnace with uses a multi-stage gas valve to give two levels of heat output depending on how cold it is in your home. The colder it gets the more heat and airflow the Variable Speed furnace puts out very much like the gas pedal on your car. In Georgia, you do not usually need the full amount of your furnaces heat output as we do not normally have extremely cold winters. The Variable Speed furnace will run on low heat output most of the time and it will run for a longer amount of time, which will more evenly heat the people and the objects in the home, not just the air. This slow gradual heating process will make you more comfortable than you have ever felt before.

Most people are concerned about the gas their furnace consumes, but never consider the electrical consumption of the blower, which distributes air through your home summer and winter. The Variable Speed furnace utilizes a special blower motor that is powered by DC current like you battery in your car. It uses about $35.00 a year in electricity versus $300 for a regular furnace blower and uses technology to measure airflow and increase or decrease it’s output depending on the complexities of your duct work. It is the only way to be sure you are receiving the correct amount of airflow over the life of the system. A normal furnace starts to deliver less airflow as it gets dirty and old. The Variable Speed furnace speeds up it’s blower to always keep you comfortable and warm.

A special touchscreen thermostat controls the Variable Speed furnace and you can actually program in a desired humidity level that the furnaces will slow down to maintain, wringing out 10% or 20% more moisture than a regular furnace. In Georgia, it is the extreme humidity that makes you feel uncomfortable and having lower humidity allows to set the thermostat at a higher temperature and still be cool. This feature is something most homeowners have never experienced and it is one of the best improvements/upgrades for the money spent.

The Variable Speed Two Stage furnace is available from a number of different furnace companies and the technology behind is tried and true. It will save you money on gas and electric bills and also make you feel more comfortable than ever before. I think you will truly enjoy the enhanced comfort and efficiency of this furnace and thermostat controller.

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What’s in a SEER?

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

Replacing your old, worn out air conditioning system doesn’t have to be a hair-pulling, gut wrenching experience. With a small amount of information and education, one can better navigate a market found confusing and full of industry “buzz” words used by air conditioning contractors. With knowledge comes power, and you will fare much better in purchasing anything you are informed about. I would like to give you a few tips and advice that might help you to achieve the “deal” you want on a new cooling system.

The first step of the process is to convince yourself that it is time to replace your old a/c system. Unlike some appliances in your home, it is NEVER a good idea to wait until your old air conditioner stops working, since it always picks the peak of the season and the hottest day of the year to die. That is the worst time to purchase when you’re hot and irritable, and air conditioning contractors are extremely busy. You don’t drive a car until it leaves you stranded on the side of 285 in rush hour traffic; don’t keep an air conditioner until it completely dies. Use common sense and investigate a new cooling unit purchase on your terms. People that have purchased a new roof, water heater, dishwasher or kitchen remodel seem to take delight in bragging that their old air conditioner is still running. What they fail to realize is tey alone could be responsible for electric-generating nuclear power plants being brought online to run their ancient dinosaur of a unit. The least efficient air conditioner available today is able to cut your cooling bill by over 50%. That is no hollow promise, but a real number you can cut out of your power budget, and you can most likely keep your home cool for the first time in a long time.

Starting in 2007, the federal government mandated that all air conditioners be a minimum of 13 SEER. A SEER rating is a numerical rating assigned to an air conditioner and its corresponding cooling coil that denotes how much electricity it will consume in an average season. The letters S-E-E-R stand for “Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio”, and the important thing to remember is that each SEER point represents approximately 10% additional energy savings over a lower SEER number unit.

The SEER rating is a product of a matched indoor cooling coil and specific outdoor unit. Both have to be purchased together. There are no outdoor air conditioners available today that should be installed with your old cooling coil. It does not matter how new it is or how good of shape you think it is in; it will not work properly with a new outdoor machine. A mismatched system will not cool well, will shorten the life span of the new unit, and will not achieve anything close to a 13 SEER rating. This is one of those times when government regulation has panned out to be good for the consumer. If everybody in the country installed a new 13 SEER A/C system, the energy crisis would not exist.

It is extremely important to buy a cooling coil made by the same manufacturer that produced the outdoor unit you pick, not an aftermarket or third-party company. Regardless of what some will tell you, these third-party coils are not as good as the OEM coils. Most leaks we see are in these cheaper-grade coils and they never last as long as the outdoor units. Insist your air conditioning contractor install a cooling coil made and tested by the same company that produced the outdoor machine. You should also Insist on a brand that has a “thermal expansion valve”. This valve is the best way to regulate the flow of refrigerant through the coil and will result in enhanced comfort and efficiency. Some of the lower priced air conditioning companies use cooling coils that have piston-metering devices that are not as precise as a thermal expansion valve. STAY AWAY from these units. There are numerous good brands on the market to choose from that make good cooling coils. Eliminate those that don’t from your selection process.

There is a lot of confusion and half-truths about the refrigerant issue when picking the unit, and the issue can be confusing. The “Freon” we have used for years in this country is called “R22″ and a number of years ago the government decided to phase out production of this refrigerant due to its ability to harm the ozone layer of our planet. Car “Freon” was phased out first and now home “Freon” is being replaced with a new refrigerant called R-410a or “Puron”.

Freon units will be produced until 2010 and freon itself will be made until 2020. After that, only recycled freon will be available. A air conditioner that uses freon cannot be converted to puron and there is no law or regulation requiring you to change. There is also no law requiring you to replace or repair and air conditioner that leaks refrigerant. Common sense cries out for you not to throw money into a leaking, inefficient air conditioner, but there is no law requiring it.

When your old air conditioner wears out after 2010, it will be replaced with the new refrigerant machine and it will perform fine. DO NOT be influenced by scare tactics involving freon. Either refrigerant you pick can be installed and supported for the life of the unit, and if you pick an air conditioner brand that is known not to leak, your 1st refrigerant charge will be your last. Freon and Puron do not wear out and never need to be replaced.

Some manufacturers only promote Puron , some have stayed with only freon, and some give consumers a choice. Both refrigerants work well, and cost and application should help guide you.

It’s always a good idea to replace the refrigerant lines when going to Puron and with the higher cost of Puron units, a 13 SEER freon air conditioner is usually $800 to $1000 less expensive-but comes with the same warranty and generates the same efficiency.

A few years ago, a good bit of my time was spent educating consumers about the advantages of upgrading to top-of-the-line, 13 or 14 SEER rate equipment. Now that the 13 SEER is our minimum, the manufacturers have pushed the SEER rating up to 20 SEER and above. Air conditioners with multiple compressors to allow 2-stage cooling for enhanced comfort and dehumidification are now commonplace. Thermostats that register humidity and temperature and actually control both can be added to your new cooling system to greatly enhance indoor air comfort in the muggy south.

Last but not least, some advice on how to get the best price on your new cooling system:

Get your estimates from however many contractors you like and approach the one you choose about scheduling your work. If your units is still cooling, you can tell your contractor he can install your system anytime he is slow and needs your job to fill in his work week. As a contractor, I will give the best price to this “will-call” customer due to the complexities of scheduling work crews. To have customers ready and waiting to fill in holes in a contractors schedule is invaluable, and by being proactive about replacing your old a/c, you too can achieve the best pricing and purchase on your terms.

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Extolling the virtues of Variable Speed furnaces

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

In the next few months, a lot of you will be faced with the need to select a new gas furnace and will find the decision making process confusing between the different models. There are many different manufacturers of gas furnaces today, but there are really just a few different models available from all of them and with a little understanding of the marketplace, the choices should be easy.
There are two different efficiency categories of furnaces, and three distinct types of furnaces regardless of brand. The two different efficiencies of furnaces are 80% afue and 90%+ afue. AFUE is an abbreviation for annual fuel utilization efficiency and it is simply a measurement of how much gas consumed by you furnace actually heats your house and how much goes up the chimney as waste. An 80% afue furnace uses 80 cents of a dollar of gas to heat and a 90%+ uses 90 cents to heat , wasting only 10 cents on the dollar. There are some furnaces that use all the way up to 96.7 cents of a dollar to heat and only waste 2.3 cents of gas consumed.
The three types of furnaces are single stage, two stage and two stage variable speed and these are available in both efficiency categories.
The single stage furnace puts out the same amount of heat when it is on regardless of how cold it is outside. It is either on or off and since the furnace in your home has to be large enough to heat you on the coldest day of the year, it is over sized on all the other moderate days we have here in the Atlanta area.
The two stage furnaces take care of this on or off problem by slowing down on a moderate day to give you just the right amount of heat and speeding up on a real cold day to keep you warm and comfortable. The variable speed furnaces takes this comfort feature further by using a D/C powered variable speed fan motor to provide different settings of heat and airflow to keep your temperature even and consistent all season long.
The variable speed furnaces also save $230 to $240 a year in electrical consumption from the fan motor over and above a single stage or two stage model which use A/C powered fan motors. A variable speed furnace also has the ability to remove 15 to 20 percent more moisture from the air in the summer when coupled with a special thermostat that measures humidity levels and adjust the fan speed of the furnace to make it drier in your home than you have ever experienced before.
All today’s furnaces have no pilot light, are induced draft and are all much more efficient in gas consumption than any old model you have in you home and with the ever raising cost of gas, you should consider replacing your furnace with a new high efficiency model today to start saving. Old furnaces waste up to 50 to 60 percent of all gas consumed and with gas soon approaching $2.00 a therm, you can’t afford not to upgrade.

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Hybrids are NOT just cars!

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

When people think of hybrid technology, they generally think of cars that run on both electricity and gas. This is the most efficient way to achieve maximum miles per gallon and utilize the best of both worlds in energy usage. This same technology can be applied to the heating and cooling system in your home and you can use the least expensive energy to heat your home at any given time.

The hybrid system uses an electric heating system to heat your home in the temperature range that is most cost effective for electricity rates, which is down to 32 degrees. Below this temperature, it becomes less expensive to heat with natural gas. A high efficiency induced-draft furnace takes over to provide heat in the colder weather and this hybrid system switches back and forth from gas to electric heat, utilizing an outdoor temperature sensor that registers the information to a device called a dual fuel interface thermostat. This thermostat determines which energy source to use and it switches back and forth automatically using preprogrammed information about the cost of gas and electric in your service area. This information can be updated as the cost of both gas and electricity fluctuate to make sure you are using the most efficient, least expensive energy source available at the time. Another name for the hybrid system is dual fuel and some utility companies pay an upfront rebate on the unit.

Most people are unaware that electricity rates are much lower in the winter than in the summer. This is due to the simple economic concept of supply and demand. In the summer, there is high demand for electricity to run all the air conditioners needed to cool homes and businesses. The utility companies have to expand their electricity generating capabilities to meet peak demand in the summer, but that leaves them with extra capacity during the winter. To get rid of the extra electricity in the winter, they charge less for it and that means a lower cost source of heat for you. The gas company also charges different amounts for gas due to demand, but demand is always highest in the cold of winter. A lot of people prefer the cooler discharge temperature of a hybrid as it does not dry you out as bad as a gas furnace and the need for a humidifier is lessened. In the summer, a hybrid system cools exactly the same as a regular air conditioner, but in the winter it can save hundreds of dollars in expense in gas consumption.

Hybrid technology has been used in the automotive industry for years and it has been incorporated in the home heating and cooling systems for over twenty five years. The extreme cost of energy has now renewed an interest in the savings afforded to those who “hedge” against the unstable rising cost of utilities. Think about replacing your old worn out system with a new hybrid system this season before the hot summer months arrive.

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