5 Signs You’re Ready for an HVAC Upgrade
Your HVAC unit is arguably one of the most important components of your home. It controls your heat in the cold winter months and your air conditioning in the hot summer sun. It also plays a major role in your monthly energy bills. Because of its importance, you may be wondering when a good time is to have HVAC upgrades completed. While no one wants to invest in unnecessary upgrades, some HVAC upgrades can help you to pay much less over time while enjoying more comfort in your home.
HVAC upgrades have the potential to halt any strange noises, decrease energy bills, and give you more control over the temperature of your home. They can include a completely new unit or a few adjustments to help you get more out of the unit you have currently. With the assistance of the HVAC technicians at Entek, your HVAC upgrade can be an exciting step in the right direction. Here are a few signs that your home may need an HVAC upgrade in the near future.
1. Increased Energy Bills
It may be a gradual change, or it can happen all at once, but when your energy bill starts to increase, you’ll want to figure out why quickly. An outdated HVAC system can become inefficient, causing it to work harder to provide your home with the same results as before. Things like air leaks and unclean ducts are often to blame for increased energy bills. Each instance can require a different kind of HVAC upgrade to correct itself.
If your HVAC ducts are experiencing air leakage, they’d probably benefit from a duct sealing upgrade. This service can typically be done only by professionals, as navigating and getting inside the ducts can be tricky. To complete this task, Entek offers an advanced treatment called Aeroseal for both residential and commercial customers. It’s the only product that can seal ducts from the inside and leave your ducts up to 95 percent sealed. With less air being wasted through leaky ducts, your energy bill should be able to correct itself in no time.
Duct cleaning is another service offered by HVAC technicians that can help to lower your utility costs by up to 40 percent. Just like with duct sealing, professionals are needed to complete this service. Unclean ducts make it harder for air to travel through your home and make your unit work harder, which leads to higher energy bills. They also can lead to health problems, as your air quality can be greatly impacted by dust, debris, and mold hiding inside your ductwork.
2. Your System Is Outdated
One of the biggest signs that you’re ready for an HVAC upgrade is if your current unit is outdated. The exact life span of your unit will depend on the model, how long you’ve had it, and how well you take care of it, but on average, an HVAC unit should last around 15 years. If your unit is much older than that, it’s probably time for an upgrade.
Choosing to invest in a new unit gives you the opportunity to purchase a more energy-efficient option. Energy-efficient HVACs can improve the comfort of your home while using 30 percent less energy and fuel than a less-efficient model. With proper maintenance and assistance from your local HVAC technician, an energy-efficient HVAC can last much longer than your current model.
3. Strange Noises Are Occurring
An HVAC unit shouldn’t be making a ton of noise, and when it does, you’ll know that something is off. Any clanging, shaking, or sputtering is usually a sign that something in your unit needs to be repaired or replaced. When this happens, you should contact your local HVAC technician as soon as possible so that they can inspect the unit for damage.
Getting the assistance your unit needs in a timely manner could help to prevent any further damage from occurring. Hopefully your unit won’t need replacing, but when too many things are going wrong, it could be a sign that you need an upgrade. There are plenty of benefits to upgrading your HVAC system, one being that a new unit won’t be nearly as noisy as your outdated one.
4. You Want More Control
Having specific control over the temperature of your home may seem like a luxury, but it’s the reality for many people who have chosen to get HVAC upgrades. An upgrade that increases your control doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll have to replace your old unit. It may just require you to invest in new technology that can work with your current unit.
Thermostats are the perfect way to increase your control over your home’s temperature, while programmable thermostats go a step further. A programmable thermostat is a beneficial investment that can offer you both convenience and savings. They allow you to program your thermostat for different temperatures at different times of the day or days of the week. Entek offers programmable thermostats that are also Wi-Fi enabled, meaning that you can manage your comfort level from anywhere in or out of the home.
5. You’re Always Making Repair Calls
Though it’s normal to have repairs performed on your HVAC unit every once in a while, too many repairs in a short period of time could be a sign that you need an HVAC upgrade. These units aren’t made to last forever, and the repairs to fix a unit that’s on its way out can end up costing you even more than just getting the upgrade. If you’ve been making too many repair calls for your current unit, you’ll want to be sure that your new unit won’t cause you the same problems.
One way to avoid having to make a large number of repairs later on is to have your HVAC unit on an occasional maintenance schedule. Occasional maintenance can be performed by your local HVAC technicians and can help you to keep your HVAC in great condition for much longer. At Entek, occasional maintenance can produce amazing results, such as healthier air quality, lower utility bills, and less costly emergency repairs. The service department will keep track of the maintenance, equipment, and warranty information and send you a reminder when your maintenance is due.