Month: November 2019

Choosing a new heating system for your Longview, Texas, home doesn’t have to be a hassle. By assessing your needs, preferences, available options and budget, a professional HVAC contractor can help you choose the most appropriate system. You may discover you want to install a heat pump to provide both heating and cooling to your home. The size of your home, the system’s Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating and your fuel source will significantly impact which HVAC unit to buy. Read on to learn about the seven ways to choose a new heating system.

Type of Furnace

You have several furnace options to choose from, depending on your available fuel sources. Take for example if you have a gas line available as a fuel source. This broadens your options when shopping for furnaces. If you don’t want a gas furnace or don’t have a gas line, you can opt for a built-in electric unit, a floor or wall furnace, a boiler or even a heat pump. Heating a home with gas tends to be less expensive than heating with an oil or electric forced-air furnace. In fact, heating with gas is usually 30 to 50 percent cheaper when compared to heating with oil.

Size of Home

Always have a professional HVAC service technician calculate how large or small of a furnace you’ll need when installing a new heating system. If it’s too large or small, this means it can’t heat your house properly. Although a furnace that’s too large may heat your home fine, it’ll generate heat that you don’t need, which leads to wasting fuel. As a result, you’ll spend more than needed to heat your home.

Look at the AFUE Rating

Furnaces with a high AFUE rating operate more efficiently than furnaces with a lower rating. AFUE stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. Furnaces with an efficiency rating of 90 percent or higher usually cost quite a bit more than regular furnaces, which tend to have a rating of about 80 percent. However, having a furnace with higher AFUE rating will result lower heating costs.

Two-Stage Valves

To help ensure the furnace lasts for as long as possible, make sure it features two-stage valves. These valves control the flow of the fuel, allowing it to run on high when it first kicks on and reducing fuel supply as it runs on low to maintain your desired temperature. It should also have sealed combustion to help keep your family safe from carbon monoxide poisoning. Sealed combustion also increases a furnace’s energy efficiency.

Consider a Heat Pump

When upgrading your HVAC system, you don’t have to buy a separate furnace and air conditioner. If you prefer, you can have a heat pump installed. This type of HVAC unit can operate as a heater and air conditioner.

Inside the heat pump, it has a reverse valve that controls the direction of the refrigerant flow. A simple press of a button easily allows you to switch from heating to air conditioning mode. In older homes that lack ductwork, a heat pump is an excellent option.

Inspect Ductwork

If your home has ductwork, an HVAC service technician should inspect it to ensure it’s not damaged. You can upgrade your HVAC system to one of the most efficient models on the market, but if your ductwork has holes and tears in it, a lot of air will escape. This puts unnecessary wear and tear on the furnace and leads to energy waste. An HVAC service technician can inspect and repair any damage to the ductwork.

Check for Warranty

Lastly, check for a warranty before you buy a furnace. A new heating system is a large purchase. Therefore, you want to make sure you have a warranty in place for the first five to 10 years after installation. To truly help the system last for as long as possible, make sure to invest in regular furnace maintenance.

Contact JD’s A/C at (903) 336-6041 to learn more tips for choosing a new heating system. You can also schedule a consultation with one of our service technicians to help you decide which system is best for your home.

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The HVAC system in your Gilmer, Texas, home is responsible for keeping you comfortable day and night. What you might not know is that a few simple HVAC tweaks can ensure that you get the restful sleep you desire. As a result, you’ll have more energy to tackle the day. Here are three HVAC tweaks to help you enjoy the best sleep of your life:

Set an Evening Program

One of the most important factors that affects sleep is the temperature of your room. When your body begins to relax in preparation for the sleep cycle, it’ll lower its core temperature. When your room is too hot, this process becomes more difficult, making it harder to fall and stay asleep.

For ideal rest, set a temperature between 60 and 67 degrees in the room. If you have a programmable thermostat, you can set your evening program to a lower temperature. That way, you won’t need to adjust it each time you go to bed.

Maintain Proper Humidity

Humidity can also significantly affect your comfort while sleeping. If you begin to notice condensation forming on the windows or feel that the air is thick, your humidity levels are likely too high. If humidity is a consistent problem in your home, consider installing an add-on unit that can work with your HVAC to help maintain appropriate humidity levels. Use a dehumidify to reach an ideal humidity level between 40 and 60 percent.

Keep Your System Clean

Poor IAQ in your home can lead to nasal and throat irritation as well as congestion. It also makes it more difficult to get a good night’s rest. You can improve the IAQ in your home by changing the filter and scheduling HVAC maintenance regularly. As a result, you’ll enjoy better sleep.

Need to get your system running optimally again? Contact JD’s A/C at (903) 759-7483 to schedule seasonal maintenance and find out how we can help you improve your home’s comfort.

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Keeping your Tatum, Texas, home comfortable and energy-efficient is likely a top priority for you. One investment that will definitely provide you with the return you’re looking for is a learning thermostat. This device can help reduce your utility bills and detect harmful pollutants in the air. Find out some of the reasons a learning thermostat should be your next home upgrade.

It Can Lower Your Monthly Utility Bills

The purpose of a learning thermostat is to reduce the overall energy use in your home. This makes your house more efficient and allows you to enjoy greater savings on your utility bills each month. A learning thermostat is easy to program and customizable, so you can create a program tailored to your individual schedule. It’ll also provide you with detailed energy reports to help you determine more ways to conserve energy.

It Can Adjust On Its Own

Over time your learning thermostat will be able to create its own program by adapting to your habits and desired comfort temperatures. The program will ensure that your home reaches your ideal temperature at your desired times. It’ll also make adjustments for greater energy savings, such as switching between the air conditioning and fan function. As a result, you’ll stop cooling or heating an empty home on full blast.

It Can Alert You to Problems in Your Home

Learning thermostats can make your life easier in multiple ways. Many will deliver alerts right to your phone when they detect a problem such as furnace malfunctions or low temperatures that can lead to frozen pipes. You can also connect learning thermostats to both smoke alarms and carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. If the smoke alarm sounds, the thermostat will assist by turning the fan off. If the CO detector goes off, the thermostat will respond by shutting the heating off for safety. As a result, a learning thermostat will give you added peace of mind.

Find out for yourself why a learning thermostat is definitely a worthwhile investment. Call JD’s A/C at (903) 759-7483 so that we can help you find the perfect model for your home.

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