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Frequently Asked Questions
| Q: |
How often should I have my furnace or air conditioner serviced? |
| A: |
Each unit should be serviced at the beginning of its run season (autumn for furnaces, spring for air conditioners).
Do you have to? No. It's like
changing the oil in your car. It’s just a good idea, and it
will save you money in the long run.
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| Q: |
What is the expected life span of a furnace or air conditioner? |
| A: |
Fifteen to twenty years is the industry average.
However, poorly made or inappropriately chosen equipment won't last as
long.
For example, one customer contacted us because her heat pump wasn't working. Upon inspection, we found that the heat pump was covered in rust and beyond repair—and the
unit was only five years old!
So what had happened? Whoever the installer was had put in a heat pump that had
double the capacity required for the house. The excess capacity was able to satisfy the thermostat so quickly that the
unit never ran long enough to dry out.
(The story has a happy ending. We replaced it for her, and her new smaller-capacity heat pump is four years old, works great—and doesn't have a spot of rust.)
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| Q: |
Are air cleaners really that important? |
| A: |
Absolutely. Most people seem to think of dust as just a cosmetic concern, but it produces wear and tear on equipment in your home or office, shortens the life of your carpet and furniture, and worse. It can aggravate allergies, and
if you don't know what dust in your home or office is primarily made of,
suffice it to say, you probably don’t want very much of it in your lungs.
In short, a quality, well-maintained air cleaner doesn’t just reduce the amount of dusting you’ll have to do. It just produces an environment that’s healthier for your home, and for you.
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| Q: |
What do AFUE and SEER mean? |
| A: |
AFUE stands for Annualized Fuel Utilization Efficiency. It’s the furnace’s equivalent of miles per gallon: it’s a measure of the useful heat the furnace delivers to the house versus the heat value of the fuel it consumes.
If your furnace is over 20 years old, it probably has an AFUE of 50–60% (if that). By 1990, the typical efficiency was around 80%. We sell models today that have an AFUE of above 90%.
SEER is the same thing, but for air conditioners; it stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. This is a more accurate version of the old EER rating for air conditioners; it takes account of the unit’s operation throughout the entire cooling season.
Old air conditioning systems had a SEER of anywhere from 5.0 to 8.0. In 1992, federal regulations required all new split-system central air conditioners to have a SEER of at least 10.0 We sell systems that have a SEER rating as high as 18.0.
Note that AFUE and SEER don’t tell the whole story. There are a lot of factors that go into which heating or cooling unit is right for your application, and the unit has to be matched to your needs.
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| Q: |
Why is it that two companies may present
two very different prices for basically
the same equipment?
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| A: |
There is more to a furnace install than
meets the eye. There can be subtle
differences in the equipment or
installation that can make drastic
differences in the efficiency,
longevity, comfort and sound of your
system.
You want cheap heat, not a
cheap heater. Make sure your equipment
will serve you best over the long term.
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