When we got a call here at Blue Ridge Heating & Air from the homeowners of this spectacular house in Travelers Rest, they were concerned because their propane gas bills were going through the roof. They were concerned that their furnace was the cause, and weren’t sure if it needed a repair or it was time for a replacement.
Problem: The homeowners of this home in Pleasant Valley in Travelers Rest had a propane furnace and their gas bill was going through the roof.
Solution: Replaced the old gas furnace with a new York heat pump and gas furnace.
What Happens When A Furnace Is Burning More Fuel?
When your monthly energy bills are going up dramatically, and it’s not due to any real cause you can point to- unusually cold weather, someone leaving a window open all night, or some other “use” reason, that can be a sign your current HVAC system is struggling. Whenever we go out to someone’s home, we want to give them the best and most affordable solution possible, so we did a complete assessment of their current system. The system was older and not very efficient in the first place, but as it began to age, it started using more fuel and delivering less comfort. While we could make a couple of adjustments to the system and help it run better, we told them that in the near future, they were probably looking at a new system.
What Is Energy Efficiency?
Efficiency for an HVAC system is essentially a measure of how much energy a system can convert into heat- knowing there’s not a perfect 100% conversion rate. Older systems can be 60% or less efficient- that’s like buying 10 apples and immediately tossing 4 out, for no reason at all! Newer heating systems can be much more efficient- 80% or higher- leading to significant energy savings. Likewise, adding a heat pump, which uses electricity and the temperature in the surrounding air to add heat into your home, or remove heat- are much more efficient than standard systems.
Making a Decision About The New HVAC System
When your current system is getting to the end of its life, replacing it is a big deal, and it’s not cheap. However, by choosing a new system with higher efficiency, you can get great comfort and reduce your monthly energy bills, which means more money each month for you to spend where you like, not on upkeep for your home. That extra money every month makes a big difference to most families, and helps the system pay for itself over time. For our homeowners, they decided that replacing their system would not only save them money each month on energy bills, but would save money for increased repairs which were more likely as the system continued to fail and perform poorly. By replacing the whole system now, they would immediately reduce their monthly bills and likely get better performance and comfort as well!
Heat Pump + Furnace For Comfort Regardless!
We suggested that they get a combination heat pump and furnace, so that when the weather was milder, they had an extra efficient heating and cooling system, and when it got really cold, the gas furnace could do its job. But this would mean radically less use of the gas furnace, better efficiency and lower energy bills each and every month.
How Do Heat Pumps Work?
Heat pumps like the York HMH series we installed in this home in Pleasant Valley use a state of the art inverter driven compressor, which allows it to automatically adjust capacity and air flow to meet your comfort needs, while keeping energy bills low. Think of it like cruise control on your car- your system will only use the energy needed to keep your comfort perfect. With a 17+SEER2 rating, it’s an incredibly efficient system.
With the modulating compressor, the new system has better temperature and humidity control, giving you greater reliability and comfort.
The heat pump can heat and cool your home, but a furnace can only provide heat. By installing a heat pump and furnace, they dual fuel system is almost like a hybrid car, so you only use the more costly heating fuel when you really need it on extra cold days, when the heat pump may not work as efficiently.
Savings for Efficiency
By replacing their current system with the combination Heat Pump and higher efficiency furnace, the homeowners also qualify for rebates from their energy company and for Tax credits up to $2,000 under the Inflation Reduction Act. This helps make this versatile system even more affordable.
The bottom line here though is having lower and more predictable monthly energy bills. The combination heat pump and furnace will keep this home in Travelers rest comfortable year round, and minimize surprises when the monthly energy bill comes in- and that’s something every family can appreciate.
Big Energy Bills? Give us a Call!
If your energy bills seem out of whack, give us a call here at Blue Ridge Heating and Air. We can do a complete assessment of your system make adjustments, and if it’s getting time to replace your system, we’ll work with you to get the most efficient system in your budget, so you can start saving money on your energy bills right away! Our expert and experienced team is here to help!