Posts Tagged ‘VT’
Monday, May 6th, 2013
With summer just around the corner here are a few signs that might indicate that you should be considering air conditioner replacement.
- You find yourself in need of constant air conditioner repairs that are getting progressively more expensive.
- You are experiencing temperature inconsistencies throughout various rooms in your home.
- Your AC unit is aging. Air conditioners are not designed to last for more than 10-12 years.
- Quite simply, you are ready to say goodbye to lugging the old air conditioning units in and out of the windows throughout your house.
When looking to replace your air conditioning unit(s), you might want to consider going with a ductless air conditioning system. Here are some reasons why a ductless system might be the route to take.
- Easy Installation: These systems can often be installed in a few days.
- Convenient: They don’t take up much space and are very quiet to run.
- Easy to Operate: Many ductless air conditioners are controlled by a remote, which allows you to easily increase or lower the temperature.
- Cost-Effective- This system uses less power than traditional air conditioners, so you can expect to save money on your energy bill.
Please contact us to schedule a visit. We can help determine what the best system would be for your home. 802-310-2645.
Tags: Air Conditioning, Burlington, Champlain Valley, cooling, ductless, Environment, Vermont, VT
Posted in Air Conditioning, Air Conditioning Repair, Energy Savings, Environment, Fujitsu, Indoor Air Quality, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Tuesday, April 9th, 2013
We love getting feedback like this!
“Great experience. honest and patient with my questions. It was a significant investment to have the work done, but we feel good about how the money was spent with your company. Thank you! Be our plumbers from here on out.”
-Laura F, Underhill, VT
Tags: Burlington, Chittenden County, Gas lines, Vermont, VT
Posted in Gas Lines, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
You can save up to $125.00 in rebates, if your Rinnai tankless water heater is purchased and installed by July 31st, 2012. Click on the link below for additional information- or call us at 802-310-2645.
http://www.rinnai.us/consumer-rebate
*select models apply
Tags: BTV, Burlington, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, instant hot water, Reduce Energy Bills, Replace, Rinnai, solutions, Tankless, Vermont, VT, water heater
Posted in Energy Savings, Rebates & Tax Credits, Tankless, Uncategorized, Water Conservation, Water Heaters | Comments Off
Tuesday, August 30th, 2011
Reduce your heating costs by up to 1/3 while also reducing your impact on the environment . . .
Carrier Infinity ICS Gas Furnace
Carrier’s Infinity™ System is the most energy efficient forced-hot-air system you can buy. A complete Infinity System comprises Carrier’s top-of-the-line Infinity variable-speed furnace, the Infinity Control, and an Infinity heat pump or an Infinity air conditioner. This system allows you to vary settings in up to eight zones throughout your home, thus saving energy.
- Carrier’s quietest furnace ever!
- Up to 95% AFUE
- Up to 3.5 times tighter temperature control
- IdealComfort™ technology
- Communicating furnace with Infinity intelligence
- Comfort Heat Technology®
- Ideal Humidity System®
- Sealed combustion system
- Pilot-free PowerHeat™ ignition
- Energy Star Qualfied
- The furnace qualifies for Federal Tax Credit of $150
- The furnace qualifies for Vermont Gas rebate of $400
- Lifetime heat exchanger limited warranty (some restrictions may apply, please refer to warranty information)
- 10-year parts limited warranty (when properly registered, please refer to warranty information)
A leading innovator in the heating and cool industry, Carrier, founded in 1915, brings you the most energy efficient forced-hot-air system while also delivering on important factors such as noise level (slightly above the hum of a refrigerator), comfort, and reliablity. Plus, Carrier offers additional peace of mind with a 10-year parts warranty (lifetime on the heat exchanger) and the option to add a 10-year labor warranty (ask us about this) for what amounts to a two to three-hour service call!
Headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, USA, with approximately 30,000 employees in 170 countries, Carrier combines its global HVAC and refrigeration expertise with the responsiveness of its local operations to lead nearly every geographic market, on every continent. Their continued success is a testament to their staunch commitment to providing the highest level of quality and service to customers around the world. We are proud to be a Carrier representative in the Champlain Valley.
Download Carrier’s Infinity Series brochure or visit online for more information.
Blog entries that might interest you . . .
Tags: BTV, Burlington, Carrier, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, Furnace, green, Heat Pump, Heating, Infinity System, Lower Carbon Footprint, programmable, Reduce Energy Bills, Replace, Vermont, VT
Posted in Carrier, Energy Savings, Gas Heaters, Heat Pump Systems, Heat Pumps, Heating | Comments Off
Friday, August 5th, 2011
Older furnace and boiler systems had efficiencies in the range of 56% to 70%. Now heating systems can achieve efficiencies as high as 97%, converting nearly all of the fuel to useful heat. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy site “upgrading can often cut your fuel bills and your furnace’s pollution in half. Upgrading your furnace or boiler from 56% to 90% efficiency in an average cold-climate house will save 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year if you heat with gas, or 2.5 tons if you heat with oil.”
From US Department of Energy
So while there are certain obvious indicators that it’s time to consider replacing heating and cooling equipment, or improving the performance of your overall system—it’s no longer working, needs continuous service and is at the end of it’s life expectancy, etc.—others are not so obvious and it may be time to call a professional contractor to help you make a change.
Consider this check list:
Excerpt from Energystar.gov
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Your heat pump or air conditioner is more than 10 years old.
Consider replacing it with a unit that has earned the ENERGY STAR label. Installed correctly, these high-efficiency units can save up to 20 percent on heating and cooling costs.
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Your furnace or boiler is more than 15 years old.
Consider replacing with an ENERGY STAR qualified furnace, which is 15% more efficient than a conventional furnace. If you have a boiler, consider replacing with an ENERGY STAR qualified boiler that is 5% more efficient than a new, standard model.
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Your equipment needs frequent repairs and your energy bills are going up.
Your cooling or heating equipment my have become less efficient.
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Some rooms in your home are too hot or too cold.
Improper equipment operation, duct problems or inadequate insulation could be the cause.
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No one is home for long periods of the day and you do not have a programmable thermostat.
Install a programmable thermostat or have a good contractor install one and instruct you on its use — to start saving energy and money while they’re away or sleeping.
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Your home has humidity problems.
Poor equipment operation, inadequate equipment, and leaky ductwork can cause the air to be too dry in the winter or too humid in the summer.
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Your home has excessive dust.
Leaky ducts can pull particles and air from attics, crawl spaces and basements and distribute them throughout your house. Sealing your ducts may be a solution.
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Your heating or cooling system is noisy.
You could have an undersized duct system or a problem with the indoor coil of your cooling equipment.
That means your energy use at home is above average and you’re probably paying more than you need to on energy bills.
Information about Furnaces, Boilers, Heat Pumps, and Air Conditioners that have earned the ENERGY STAR.
If you are a Vermont Gas customer you may qualify for a free energy audit of your home or business. In some cases, the program offers assistance in covering the costs associated with the improvements. The end result however is even minor improvements in homes can make a major difference.
Tags: Boiler, BTV, Burlington, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, Furnace, green, Heat Pump, Heating, Lower Carbon Footprint, programmable, Reduce Energy Bills, Repair, Replace, Thermostat, tips, Vermont, VT
Posted in Energy Savings, Gas Heaters, Heating, Oil Heaters, Uncategorized | Comments Off
Wednesday, June 29th, 2011
The following is an excerpt from an article, “5 Fine Energy Efficiency Technologies,” in the June 2011 edition of Contracting Business Magazine.
High velocity systems are benefitting from variable air volume speed blowers and zone controls, according to George Gittinger, Design/Build manager, TUDI Mechanical Systems, Pittsburgh, PA.
“It’s a big plus to be able to put multiple thermostat zones on one high velocity system,” Gittinger says.
He adds that TUDI is beginning to combine high velocity and geothermal systems for some high-end homeowners, especially those who live in historic homes.
“The combination of geothermal and high velocity is great for these homes,” Gittinger says. “Inside, they don’t have a lot of room for ductwork. The small duct openings are perfect for maintaining historic character. Outside, they don’t want equipment that will distract from the aesthetics of the house. It’s a nice solution, inside and outside.”
Customer education is an important element of the high velocity business, Gittinger adds. He advises educating potential customers about the effect of aspiration.
“Customers look at a 2-in. round hole in the ceiling blowing straight down, or in the floor blowing straight up, and they can’t image how the conditioned air is going to circulate into the center of the room. But because it’s moving at such a high velocity, even a small air stream aspirates or entrains the air around it and creates an air movement to involve the whole room,” he says.
Customers may also be interested to learn that high velocity systems, such as SpacePak, are often better humidity removers than traditional systems, according to Gittinger.
“The coils are a little thicker and a little colder in a high velocity system than in a traditional system, and they actually have a little bit less air passing over,” he says. “In essence, that gives them a better dehumidification capability.”
Tags: Air Conditioning, BTV, Burlington, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, cooling, green, Lower Carbon Footprint, Reduce Energy Bills, Thermostat, Vermont, VT
Posted in Air Conditioning, Energy Savings | Comments Off
Sunday, May 22nd, 2011
The bright yellow Energy Guide Label will help you choose the right new, green, energy efficient unit that will reduce your family’s carbon footprint while also meeting your useage and aesthetic requirements. The label appears on not only on dishwashers, clothes washers, refrigerators, freezers, pool heaters, and window air conditioners but also on water heaters, heat pumps, central air conditioners, boilers, and furnaces.
The Energy Guide Label should appear near the blue Energy Star Label or will hanging inside the product. If you can’t locate the label and are in a retail store, it is worth asking the retailer.
The label shows an estimate of yearly operating cost by using a scale which shows that chosen models yearly cost in dollars and also gives you a figure for similar models of the least yearly operating cost and also similar models which are the most yearly operating cost. It also gives an estimate of yearly electricity useage (everyones actual operating costs will of course differ from the estimate depending on how high or low your local utility rates are and how often the product is used – these national averages are updated every five years).
Tags: Air Conditioning, BTV, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, cooling, green, Heating, Lower Carbon Footprint, Reduce Energy Bills, tips, Vermont, VT, water heater
Posted in Air Conditioning, Energy Savings, Heat Pump Systems, Heat Pumps, Heating, Water Heaters | Comments Off
Wednesday, May 11th, 2011
Energy Kinetics, the maker of System 2000, helps homeowners understand AFUE ratings and where they fall short of giving you a true understanding of energy useage in your home.
The US Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory conducted a study which uncovered the fact that AFUE ratings ignore idle losses, a performance factor which is not evaluated for AFUE on units which provide heat and hot water. Idle loss includes two primary areas of heat loss on conventional home heating systems: standyby loss and jacket loss. Also, almost entirely neglected are draft regulator, draft hood, and room air losses. In the study, the reduction of idle losses is identified as a primary factor in improving real system efficiency. Significant idle losses may lead to actual efficiencies as low as 55%. This real annual efficiency rating may determine system performance even when the government AFUE rating measure in the 80-95 percentile range.
For more information on real efficiency, the findings around this study, and a comparison of fuel efficiencies among typical and top rated home heat and hot water systems visit Energy Kinetics online.
Tags: BTV, Burlington, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, green, Heating, Lower Carbon Footprint, Reduce Energy Bills, tips, Vermont, VT
Posted in Energy Savings, Heating | Comments Off
Wednesday, April 20th, 2011
In your quest to find the ideal system, you will encounter several important industry-standard efficiency ratings. Generally speaking, the higher efficiency your product is, the lower your long-term energy costs will be. And as always, we are happy to help you choose the heating and cooling products that are right for you.
- SEER = Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio
This is the measure of efficiency by which the cooling process of air conditioners and heat pumps is rated. The higher the SEER number, the greater the efficiency–and therefore greater energy savings. Today, US regulatory agencies require all new products to have a 13.0 SEER rating or better. Carrier offers a full line of central air systems 13 to 21 SEER and duct-free systems from 13 to 23 SEER as well as heat pumps from 13 to 19 SEER.
Cost Savings: If you currently have an 8 SEER air conditioner and you upgrade to a 13 SEER you could save 38% on your energy costs. And if you go to 16 SEER you can cut your energy bills almost in half!
- AFUE = Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency
This is the standard measurement of efficiency for gas and oil-fired furnaces, boilers, and hot water heaters. Given percentages, this number tells you how much of your fuel is used to heat your home or domestic hot water and how much fuel is wasted. The higher the AFUE rating, the greater the efficiency. The minimum industry requirement is 78% but they are made as high as 96.6% for furnaces (like the Carrier Infinity 96), 96% condensing boilers (like Buderus Logamax Plus GB142), and 96% for condensing tankless water heaters (like Rinnai RC80HPi). Read more about AFUE limitations.
Cost Savings: If you have an older furnace (with an AFUE of approximately 60%), you could save up to 40% on your heating bills by replacing it with a new high efficiency furnace! The cost to replace your old, inefficient furnace is paid back through lower utility bills.
- HSPF = Heating Seasonal Performance Factor
This is the efficiency measurement used to gauge the efficiency of the heating mode of heat pumps. The higher the number, the greater the efficiency and cost savings. Today’s models are required to have a 6.8 HSPF or higher. Most new units have ratings between 7.7 and 9.0 HSPF. Carrier offers a full line of heat pumps from 7.7 to 9.5 HSPF.
Cost Savings: Higher efficiency heat pumps and air conditioners usually means higher equipment cost but lower utility bills. If you live in a warm and/or humid climate, you will probably see the higher cost of a high efficiency air conditioner or heat pump paid back (through lower utility bills) in a few short years. Of course, after the payback, you continue to save on your energy bills.
- Matching Your System for Optimum Efficiency
One additional factor that affects the efficiency of your air conditioning or heat pump system is your indoor coil. If your condensing unit is not matched with the proper indoor coil, it may not give you the stated SEER and/or HSPF ratings and could even develop performance problems. When you replace an existing system, make sure you replace both units so your new condensing unit will give you optimal performance, efficiency, and comfort.
Tags: Air Conditioning, BTV, Champlain Valley, Chittenden County, cooling, ductless, mini-split, minisplit, split system, Tankless, tips, Vermont, VT, water heater
Posted in Air Conditioning, Carrier, Energy Savings, Heat Pump Systems, Heat Pumps, Heating, Water Heaters | Comments Off
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