I recently purchased an old house that was built in 1900. It is gorgeous with all it's historical character, but it certainly lacks efficiency. The house, like many of it's generation, probably had it's old coal furnace upgraded to an oil one, then, sometime in the 80's it was upgraded to gas, which is fantastic. Now the question is, how are we going to make through another 100 degree summer without central air? Apparently the last occupant made it through the hot summers by upgrading every ceiling fixture to ceiling fans, but I'm not sure that will keep things cool enough so I'm on the hunt for a good New York HVAC specialist. Here are some things I learned during my research:
1. Should I buy an air conditioner?
It's good to buy one in the spring apparently - because they are on sale and have rebates - during the summer the prices are high. The rebate time period is March-June. The problem with getting a unit in the fall is that the warrantee clock is ticking while it's not in use in the fall and winter.
2. What type of air conditioner do I need?
I have a 1000 SF house, so the question is - do I really need central air? Couldn't I get away with a window unit? The window unit will be a lot cheaper, so that's definitely an option - though it probably won't cool the whole house very efficiently. But maybe I should just put it in the bedrooms because it's impossible to sleep when it's so hot.
Central air will probably be much more comfortable and better for resale value of my house - but how much will I spend to install it?
4. Energy Efficient?
Although having air conditioning is not all that energy efficient to begin with, some air conditioners are better than others. EER or Energy Efficiency Ratio is a measure of how efficient a particular air conditioning unit is. The higher the number, the more efficient the unit and the less it will cost each year to run. Small units currently have a top EER of about 11, while the most efficient large units have an EER of about 13.
5. What cooling capacity do I need?
If I get a central air unit, my New York HVAC contractor can help me with what type of air conditioner I might need. However, I will want to be more informed if I plan on walking into a home store and picking out a window unit. I will start with the square footage of my rooms. Cooling capacity is measured in BTU/hour. (British Thermal Units per Hour) The higher the number, the more powerful the unit is. A small room of 150 square feet may only need a 5000 BTU/Hour unit, whereas a room of 1200 square feet may need a 19,000 BTU/Hour monster.
However, room size is not the only factor that contributes to the capacity. There are many other factors including:
The best way to calculate this, it turns out is online. For example, consumerreports.org has a calculator for this.
http://www.consumerreports.org/Special/Worksheets/Reports/ac99wks.html
I will probably err on the side of a smaller unit to keep my costs down and use my numerous ceiling fans to further reduce my bill, but it's still important to make the calculations.
6. Cost?
If you want to figure this out, you are welcome to do the calculations. You need to know how much energy costs in your area. I am too lazy to calculate this, but I can tell you that in the past my air conditioner (central air) bumped my electricity bill up by $100 per month during July. Air conditioners are expensive in even the most efficient houses.
7. How much does my electricity cost?
I've never been able to figure out my electricity bill - but, if you're so inclined - go for it. You will find out really quickly though, that air conditioners are a major drag on your finances and therefore I try to set my air conditioner set to the highest temperature I can stand to keep the bills low.
10. Where should I buy it?
If you want to keep your warrantee it may be important to buy the unit through an authorized New York AC retailer or the company may not honor it. There may be some online retailers where you can also keep your warrantee - make sure they have free delivery because air conditioners are heavy.
Make sure to pay with a credit card. The gold or platinum cards will usually double your warranty.
Stay tuned for my next blog on finding a good HVAC contractor.
No comments:
Post a Comment