Heat Pumps and Air Conditioning
Heating and cooling systems usually account for the majority of your utility expenses. There have been considerable efficiency improvements in both heat pumps and furnaces over the last ten years. It's common to find 8 and 10 SEER units still running strong but a 13 SEER is the minimum today and a 16 SEER can be installed for just a little more cost. Replacing an 8 SEER with a 16 SEER will reduce the energy cost to run the heat pump by half.
Heat pump efficiency is rated in SEER's and is equal to one BTU of heating or cooling per watt used to create it. Simply put - the higher the SEER, the more efficient the unit is.
In the South it is important that the A/C system be sized properly because we depend on it to remove the moisture from our homes during the humid summers. An A/C unit has to run for a few minutes before it even starts to remove condensation so if a unit is oversized it will run for shorter time periods and not have a chance to remove the moisture from the house and leave it with a moldy, musty smell.
Maintenance is to clean the outside coils gently with a garden hose and water and charge the filter regularly. About 60% of all units are either under charged or over charged and therefore 10-15% inefficient. Having a certified HVAC company inspect and clean your system every couple of years will keep your system running as well as it can.
The $1,500 Federal tax Credit is available through 2010 and most heat pump upgrades will qualify for the rebate. Unfortunately, only one rebate per tax filer.