Good heating and air conditioning can be hard to come by these days. Especially considering the culture of planned obsolescence, it can easily feel like you’re just drowning in a sea of never-ending repair and replacement bills. HVAC systems and units aren’t exactly cheap, unfortunately, so it can be a pretty big strain on the wallet.
How can we avoid this, though? Honestly, it’s a pickle that many folks find themselves in. Thankfully, there are ways to get around it. Namely, if we shop with sellers that we trust and find contractors to install them, we can end up with quality goods that don’t fall into the trap mentioned above.
If you’d like to know some of the ways to do that, then stick around. We’ll be discussing what to look for from an HVAC unit, along with some of the ways that we can keep them running for a long time. After all, they’re pretty important, especially in a chilly place like Canada. No one wants to end up stuck without heat for the winter.
Types of Heating and Cooling Systems
When we’re shopping, it’s easy to forget that there are a few different types of HVAC systems out there. Depending on the style that you go for, you could end up with something quite different. It’s worth remembering that each of them tends to have different maintenance and installation requirements, so keep that in mind as you’re deciding on what you want to get.
Of course, as with most things, there are certain pros and cons for each type of unit. If you’re ever uncertain, you may want to talk to a customer service rep from a dealership-style company.
Out of all of them, the most common type of HVAC system that we see is known as a split one. Really, it just means that there will be two central units – the heating and then the cooling one. As the name implies, they’re split rather than combined. While it does mean that you’ll have more bulky things on the way to your home, they are usually less expensive and require less maintenance.
Next, there are “hybrid” split systems. These aren’t all that different from the ones above, but there are a few key changes of course. Most notably, there’s the fact that they use an electric heating method. That’s what makes them “hybrid,” and allows them to require less in terms of energy usage (and thus cost). The drawback is that sometimes, their upfront price will be higher.
Turning our attention to one that isn’t often discussed, there’s the duct-free model. These aren’t very popular in comparison to some of the others for a few reasons, but that doesn’t make them worse (or better). Instead, they excel in a fairly niche circumstance – that being when there’s a need for individually managing the temperature between different rooms.
With the duct-free ones, you will probably end up paying a bit more money upfront. The tradeoff is, of course, the fact that you can adjust the temperature in each of the rooms in your home. They are also a bit difficult to install compared to other options, so that’s something to keep in mind. You can read about that on this page if you’re curious about how some of that specialized training works. Essentially, though, as a consumer what you’ll need to know is that you may need to find a specific contractor for these systems.
The final ones to discuss here are called packaged units. Most of the time, they’re intended for smaller homes and spaces. Additionally, while they do tend to be energy efficient, they’re also not as strong as some of the other options, so folks in colder parts of the world often steer clear of them.
Why Does it Matter?
Now, maybe you’re not sold as to why this stuff is such a big deal in the first place. Certainly, it does seem a bit strange that we need to worry about the specifics of this stuff so much, at least at first glance. However, the truth of the matter is that keeping your home at a comfortable temperature is pretty important.
You can see some details about this here, https://www.acs.org/education/resources/k-8/inquiryessg-and-cooling.html, but the gist of it is that when the temperature is too hot or too cold, it can cause problems for folks with pre-existing conditions. Beyond that, it’s just not very fun to be in those sorts of spaces.
That’s especially true for when it’s hot out, really, since we can pretty much always put more layers on when it’s cold out, but we can’t exactly take everything off to get cooler in the heat. While it may not be something that we think about a lot, it’s better to consider it sooner rather than later so that we don’t end up stuck without these important systems when we need them most.
For that reason, amongst others, making sure that we have a high-quality HVAC unit is a pretty big deal. Finding trusted vendors isn’t always going to be easy, but at least it is worth the effort that we put in to do so. That way, we’ll know that there’s someone we can count on if things do happen to go wrong.
Of course, ideally, there won’t be many issues in the first place. Heating and cooling systems tend to be a bit finicky, though, no matter how high-quality they are. In fact, that’s why most professionals suggest that you have an annual check done on them. Depending on who you purchased the unit from, there’s a good chance that they’ll offer those sorts of services. Thankfully, even if that’s not the case, they can at least steer you in the right direction of where to look.
