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Why You Should Replace That Older Heating And Cooling
Systems Before It Breakdown:
- Energy savings. The average
efficient life of a residential heating and cooling system that has been
properly maintained is 15 years. After 15 years the unit will still
operate, but it is operating efficiency slowly dwindles. From 15 years of age to
20 years of age, the system can lose up to 40% of its efficiency. So
that high efficiency furnace and air conditioner installed in 1990 will be providing
the efficiency you paid for up to 2005 as long as it's properly maintained. That same
high efficiency system
installed in 1985 now may have an efficiency as low as 60% after 20 years.
It will still run, but at what cost to you each month in utility bills
and
repair costs. Don't wait for it
to break, schedule a replacement on your schedule in your budget with
planning.
- Value. Just like cars, the purchase
of a heating and cooling system can be coordinated with seasonal specials and
factory discounts where you can save hundreds of dollars on the purchase of a
new heating and cooling system in the historically milder weather. The
more demanding weather conditions are, the higher the demand for replacement
services driving the cost up and availability out to longer waits if a system
fails. If you have to hurry a replacement heating and cooling purchase
due to weather and circumstances, you may be investing more money for less of
a purchase. Better financing is usually available during milder weather
for purchases allowing up to 12 months "Same-As-Cash" again increasing the
value of your investment.
- FEAR that an existing heating and cooling system will
break down on the hottest day of summer or the coldest day of winter is a
powerful driving force with many replacement buyers. If you have a
fifteen year old or older heating and cooling system, it's just like a car
with 100,000 miles, it's not a matter of if it will break, it's a matter of
when. With the high pace speed most of our lives move at home, with
family and work, the inconvenience of a breakdown of a heating and
cooling system may effect more than just comfort in the home. If a
spouse has to take off work to address a breakdown, it can cost monetary loss
of wages, sick days that may be needed for kids later in the season, scheduled
meetings, conferences or just the fact of accomplishing your goals for the
day. The "lost time" factor has become more and more important each
year. With a planned purchase, the FEAR a failure is removed from the
equation.
Most Common Reason's Why A Homeowner Waits For A System
To Fail Before Replacing It:
- Energy savings is not important to some people.
The fact that you can flip a switch and your lights come on is the same
expectation that you set the thermostat and the heating and cooling system
comes on. Just because you pay a utility bill does not mean that you
read the utility bill. An estimated annual electric usage to operate a
20 year old properly maintained 3 ton air condition is $636.00. This
does not include other electric using appliances, this is strictly the average
electric use for the air conditioner. If your replaced that existing air
conditioner with a new 12SEER air conditioner your average annual usage would
be $318.00 or approximately a 50% savings. If the air conditioner was
not maintained your savings could be as high as 65%. The average
efficient life of a properly maintained air conditioner is 15 years with a
$318.00 average saving per year equals of $4,770.00 over the life of that air
conditioner. The higher the efficiency of the air conditioner the more
the savings. It's easy to see why energy savings is a good reason to
trade up. Just as a comparison, it would take $15,900 invested in a
savings account with annual 2% interest rate paid to equal the same return of $318.00
annually on your investment. A new air conditioner would be a much
better investment for less capital.
- Price. Most homeowners are
confident with 267 heating and cooling contractors in the Metro East area,
they will be able to find a service contractor when they need one and pay only
what price they feel is fair for the installation. In the
bazaar's of the middle east they are called an "Arab Trader" and not always
with affection. When you buy on price as the driving force of making a
buying decision you will always get exactly what you pay for. Most times
less, but never more. A box
that is supposed to heat and cool your home. Hopefully, the 1 of 267
service contractors you contacted provides a "Heat Loss" - "Heat Gain" of your
home to verify the proper size unit. This important step is only taken
by true professional's who have you the clients best interest in mind.
Most service contractors will take a look at the tag on the old unit and price
it according to this information. The only problem with this strategy is
most system were installed over sized. Prior to closing the houses up
for energy savings this wasn't a problem. Now, you are totally reliant
on the air conditioner to remove the humidity from your home in the summer to
prevent mold from becoming a problem. An over sized air conditioner can
not run long enough to remove humidity properly. An over size air
conditioner will short cycle adding to the cost of operating the system.
Replacement of a heating and cooling system will not remove other comfort
issues that may exist in your home. Leaky duct work can drop
efficiency by as much as 20% seasonally. Restricted air flow can create
problems with the new blower motor wearing it out faster than normal.
Humidity problems can create mold issues. Cold and hot spots will remain
and possible worsen. So remember when your buy on price, be prepared to
get exactly what you paid for or less. Do it right today, or you will pay again
and again with an improper installation.
- FEAR of getting a fair deal when buying a
heating and cooling system. The number one question a client will ask after
reviewing options is, "is this really a good deal?" Homeowners are
always afraid they will pay too much on a heating and cooling replacement when
they should really be afraid of paying too little.
We receive phone calls daily from homeowners asking the price of a replacement
system over the phone site unseen. Since there have been NO codes are standards of
installation in the Metro East area up until four years ago, there is NO such
thing as a standard installation that can be priced over the phone. A
low phone quote is a "gimmick" that some heating and cooling companies use to
get into your home and then raise the price based on existing conditions that
you have and were unaware of when giving you the phone quote. After you add the changes to the pricing they may no longer be
the lowest price that you were able to acquire from phone quotes. They
are counting on your frustration to say, "just go ahead and get it done".
Please be wary of any phone quote as being a good quote. And if you ask
for a ball park, remember Bush Stadium is bigger and more costly than the
Grizzlies park even though both are used to play professional baseball. We have taken the
position that a phone quote is not in the best interest of the client or us as
a contractor in providing the best value to our clients. We will come
out to your home at no cost or obligation to you and measure up your home,
help identify comfort issues, air flow, humidity, hot and cold spots that need
to be addressed at the time of the replacement. In most cases, these items can be addressed at the time
of the replacement installation at a minimal cost.
The following are steps our Comfort Specialist take
when coming to your home to provide value in your purchase.
- A survey of the home for heating, cooling and indoor
air quality related issues. You can't solve problems if you don't know
them.
- A "Heat Loss" - "Heat Gain" of the actual heating and
cooling needs of your home.
- Air flow analysis of registers and grilles.
- Visual review of the exposed heating and cooling system
and duct work with the unit running for air loss.
- Inspection of the filter and return duct for debris and
build up. An improper air filter can costs hundreds of dollars for
repairs.
- A review of your needs for a heating and cooling
system. How important is energy savings compared to your budget.
How long will you be in the home after the replacement takes place.
These are just a few of the 10 questions we review for comfort and best
investment.
- We review financing options that are available to make
the investment of the best value.
- A written proposal of exactly what is included and a
scope of work should be provided.
- A written proposal of exactly what is included in our
scope of work along with written
Guarantees that will be provided.
- Every installation of a heating and cooling system
should include a full parts and labor warranty at NO charge to you.
- Every installation of a heating and cooling system
should include a maintenance program at NO charge to your. If proper
maintenance is the single most important step you as a home owner can take to
save energy and increase the life of your heating and cooling system, why
would the installing contractor not have the same goals for your investment in
a replacement system?
Without this information, you as the homeowner are taking
the chance of getting a system that will require additional money for you to
invest after the installation has been completed. The value of a system is
based on the investment plus repairs and maintenance divided by the efficient
life of the system. Don't be like a lot of homeowners that pay too little
for the installation and continue to pay for repairs and comfort issues over the
life of system. Please allow an hour and a half for these proper steps to take
place. Remember these are for your benefit and NO one else's.
Why your system should include a parts and labor
warranty.
As furnaces and air conditioners have had to become more
efficient due to laws and codes, the units have become more complex with new boards,
switches, circuitry and accessories that your existing system may not have increasing the possibility of a repair.
With a FULL 5 or 10 year parts and labor warranty, you won't pay for a repair on
the new system during that period. With Hirth / Aire Serv as your installing contractor that is exactly what you won't pay for is
a repair during the warranty repair.
Why your system should include maintenance.
The peak performance of any mechanical item comes from
periodic maintenance. A lack of maintenance not only decreases efficiency,
but it leads to costly repairs that increase the cost of your investment.
A heating and cooling system is just like your car. Seasonal maintenance
is the equivalent of periodic oil changes. Just picture what would happen
if you didn't change the oil in your car for a year or two. The engine
would get gummed up, stalling, seals leaking and finally your engine might even
lock up. You climb into your car and leave the driveway everyday and can
see exactly how your car operates to address any problems or issues. With
your heating and cooling system, you normally don't see it or pay attention to
it until it fails. Seasonal maintenance guarantees the system you and your
family are sleeping with every night works at peak performance and in most cases
allows the technician to identify future problems for your attention before they
become a problem.
You have the choice as a consumer to be a buyer who solves
problems or a buyer who has to deal with problems.
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