By now, I think almost everyone has a painful/costly understanding of the inflationary pressures the USA is facing. From Food, to Real Estate, to Automobiles, it seems that all ships have rose in the so called inflationary tide. However, one of the most egregious price increases, which will hit us at home this winter, is the increased cost of energy. Energy prices are continuing to increase, and just in time for the winter heating season. Year to date, natural gas prices are up 137%, and oil is up about 88%, and coal is up significantly higher as well. These energy increases will certainly be felt on winter heating bills. On top of this, new furnace installation and AC equipment pricing is continuing to rise. All of these factors point towards now might be a good time to consider an HVAC upgrade, if you were considering doing so before.
I’m typically not one to try to push customers towards replacing their heating and AC equipment prematurely. In general, I think the HVAC industry oversells equipment, and often condemns furnaces that still have some life left in them. However, new furnaces and ACs have been continuously increasing in price as of late, and so far, it doesn't look like there's any price reduction coming on the horizon.
That said, the current economic trends are pointing towards more significantly more expensive energy pricing, and more expensive operating costs for the winter months, suggesting that a more efficient system now might be the way to go.
If you’re curious what the efficiency percentage is of your current furnace, a quick and simple way to determine this is by looking at the exhaust pipe—if the exhaust pipe is steel, there’s a good chance your furnace has an efficiency rating of about 80%. If your furnace has PVC pipe for it’s exhaust, then you might be closer to 90%. Older furnaces waste a lot of heat through their exhaust, making the exhaust too hot for normal PVC pipe—that’s why they’re made of steel. This is also true for boilers. The newest furnaces and boilers can reach into the 96%-98% efficiency rating, which can mean big savings on sky rocketing energy prices.
If you’d like to get a consultation on a new furnace install or new boiler install, give us a call! We can try to identify what kind of savings you might see with a new system. We try our hardest to help our customers navigate the intricacies of heating, cooling, electrical, and wells, and always look forward to a good conversation about what is best for you!
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