Today the price of energy is rising with no end in sight. As we're all more strapped for cash it's more important then ever to make sure that you're getting everything you can when you spend your hard earned dollar. Whether your present home heating/air conditioning system is old, or whether you're considering a new heating and air conditioning system you should always do some homework before you spend your money. Having a new heat pump system put in your home will cost $5,000 and up. A new gas furnace can cost even more.

Today's gas furnaces and heat pump units are much more efficient than units that are just ten years old. For a lot of us unfortunately heat pumps, which worked well in warmer climates somehow made their way north where they barely work at all. Today's heat pumps are far superior and can cost 40% less to run than older systems.

Whatever type of heating or air conditioning you're replacing check the SEER rating. SEER or Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio is a gauge of how efficient and cost effective the unit will be. The higher the SEER the more energy efficient it is. The higher the SEER rating the more expensive the unit is too. You'll want to try to balance out cost and efficiency.

Talk with your friends and family to see who they may have used if they've recently had heat pumps installed. Contact several different manufacturers to see what costs are. Some of the most trusted home heating installers are Trane, American Standard, Lennox, AirPro, Thermal Zone, Grandaire and Guardian. Compare the size of the units, add-ons and warranties. It's also important that you feel comfortable that the salesman and the installer are familiar with the units they sell. You should never feel pressured and should always get an estimate in writing.

While you're making your decision there are things you can do to help make your home more energy efficient. Caulk and weather strip around doorways and windows. If you can see daylight between a door and the frame you're losing valuable heat and air conditioning. Add a ceiling fan which will help pull hot air up in the summer and force it down in the winter. Replace your old thermostat with a new and much more accurate digital thermostat.

Have you ever wondered if there is such as thing as DIY heating? Well, there is but it's greatly limited unless your best friend is an electrician, plumber, sheet metal worker and has all the tools to do the necessary pressure testing after installing a new unit. Unfortunately most of us don't have such a friend. Also, when a heat pump is installed it and your electric box must be inspected by State or local inspectors. A new heat pump and air conditioning unit requires careful installation that should be left to professionals.

One type of DIY heating is solar. Solar panels are relatively easy for those with DIY experience to install. There are many different makes of solar panels for passive solar power, they are Carmanah, Duralite Global Solar, Kyocera, Mitsubishi, Photowatt, Schott, Schuco, Shell, Sun Power, Sun Tech, SunWize, Uni-Solar, Webel and Yingli. Depending on the size you want panels can be bought by watt, from 1 watt to 5 watts to 200 watts and greater. Best of all passive solar panels require virtually no maintenance and last for decades.

If you decide to purchase a window air conditioner or portable room air conditioner make sure that you buy the correct size. Don't go without knowing exactly how many BTU your room requires. It's based on multiplying the length of your room by the width of your room to get the square footage. Buy based on square footage needs. You should take into consideration number of windows and height of ceiling. If you've lots of windows on a south facing side and very high ceilings you may want to add more BTU power. A window air conditioner that is too large will not cool efficiently.

Article Source: http://www.energyefficienthomearticles.com

Author: Norman Fleming is a home heating and air conditioning expert. He has information about www.easy-hvac.com>home heating and air conditioning and www.easy-hvac.com>passive solar heating on his site. Don't reprint this article. Instead, reprint a free unique content version of this same article.

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