Spring is here and that means another summer is just around the corner. This is also the time of year people start thinking about adding or replacing the air conditioner to make sure this summer is more comfortable than last year was. But where do you begin? How do you know you are making the right choice for your home? Most importantly, how do you make sure you don\u2019t get ripped off? These are all great questions homeowners ask all the time.<\/p>\n
The first and most important thing is your contractor. \u00a0Do your research. \u00a0On line reviews are great, but look for an recommendation from someone you know who used that company. \u00a0Not all contractors are the same and neither are the technicians. \u00a0Make sure you feel comfortable. \u00a0Here are some good questions to ask and things to look for.<\/p>\n
Next up is the age old question: \u00a0Who makes the best unit? \u00a0Are you ready for the answer to a question that has baffled home owners for eons? \u00a0The answer is \u201cWhatever the preferred brand is of your trusted, licensed and vetted contractor\u201d! \u00a0That\u2019s it. \u00a0The truth of online reviews for heating and cooling products is that people\u2019s overall happiness is in most cases determined by the quality of the install rather than the quality of the equipment. \u00a0I like Trane equipment. \u00a0Bob likes Carrier Equipment. \u00a0Homeowners like working equipment.<\/p>\n
Ok folks, stay with me now\u2026 \u00a0It\u2019s time for some technical stuff.<\/p>\n
SEER \u2013<\/strong>\u00a0This stands for Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating. \u00a0 It basically goes like this. \u00a0The Higher the SEER rating, the lower the cost of operation but the higher your initial investment. The last question I get asked a lot is \u201cDo I have to replace my furnace too\u201d? \u00a0The answer is, not always. \u00a0But if your furnace is more than 10 years old, it is likely that the added work and stress of running the AC will shorten the life span of your furnace. \u00a0You can generally save money when installing both at the same time too. \u00a0So if your furnace is less than 30 years old and your contractor tells you you MUST replace the furnace too, get a second opinion just to be safe.<\/p>\n Here is my last tad bit. \u00a0Want to know the best time to get a deal on a new AC unit? \u00a0It\u2019s now in early springs. \u00a0While the temps outside hover right around perfection, no one needs us. \u00a0So in order to entice homeowners to do their planned upgrades now, many contractors will offer special promotions and discounts.<\/p>\n Spring is here and that means another summer is just around the corner. This is also the time of year people start thinking about adding or replacing the air conditioner to make sure this summer is more comfortable than last year was. But where do you begin? How do you know you are making the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[70],"tags":[151,153,152],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1068"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1768,"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions\/1768"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.socoheatingandcooling.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
TONS \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Technicians and contractors will often refer to the TON size of your outdoor condensing unit. \u00a0This is short hand for the BTU rating, or amount of cooling created, of your system. \u00a012,000 BTUs equals one TON of capacity. \u00a0In very general terms, you need 12,000 BTUs of capacity for every 600 sqft of conditioned space. \u00a0There are many other conditions that contribute to the proper sizing of your unit. \u00a0A quality contractor will perform a load calculation to ensure the right fit.
Single Stage, Two Stage and Variable Speed<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Modern air conditioning units come in a number of configurations these days. \u00a0A single stage unit is the AC we are all familiar with. \u00a0It comes on, it goes off. \u00a0Two stage units will operate at half their capacity during the cooler parts of the day. \u00a0This makes for more consistent temperatures inside your home without the hot and cold spikes most people are familiar with and does it all while using much less energy. \u00a0Variable speed units are the Rolls Royce of AC, allowing you to maintain exact temperature controls at all times while using far less power and much quieter operation.<\/p>\nFurnace replacement<\/h2>\n
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