If you live in one of the extreme areas of the country, you probably are no stranger to heating and cooling solutions. Residing in difficult climates, such as hot and humid, extremely arid and dry, or variably hot and cold conditions will necessitate purchasing specialized air temperature control equipment for your home. Whereas you might be able to get by with a regular forced air furnace living in mild areas of the country, you probably won’t want to rely on such a rudimentary system residing in the Northeast. Similarly, a traditional AC window unit in moderate parts of the country, it’s unlikely that a small cooling system like this will be able to keep you comfortable all summer long in the hotter areas of the country. There are careful HVAC considerations to be made if you intend to live somewhere with an extreme climate.
These days, personal indoor comfort is only the start of a responsible home buyer decision. As our environment continues to change rapidly, consumers are now faced with making ethical choices about the products that they purchase. At this point, a home’s air temperature and air quality control system needs to fulfill certain energy-efficiency needs as well as air conditioning needs. It isn’t viable for global citizens to continue purchasing the most high-powered devices on the market when that contributes to a climate decline as well as added cost to their monthly bills. That’s why I you will likely find something called a SEER energy rating on all Heating and Cooling products on the market today.
SEER energy ratings are used to easily ranks the operational efficiency of air quality control equipment as well as other home appliances. It has become the industry standard for buyers and sellers to get an accurate idea of the electricity necessary to power modern devices. SEER stands for seasonal energy efficiency ratio; it is the standard unit of measurement for the HVAC production industry. This number refers to the machinery’s total cooling output divided by the total amount of energy required to power the device over the course of the same season. This is meant to give consumers an idea of how much energy and money they will be spending to keep comfortable conditions in their home throughout the summer.
When you are looking at a new cooling system, I strongly recommend that you understand the Seer rating system. You may also want to investigate AC units specially designed for whatever climate you are currently living in. If you have a small home in a mild climate, you may be able to get away with a ductless heating and cooling system or a traditional medium powered change answer system. However, if you are looking to optimize your energy expenditure as well as your home comfort, I strongly recommend that you consider some of the more advanced cooling options that are available today. Recently, I began looking into the Bryant 226A two-stage heat pump with Puron refrigerant, after it was recommended to me by my trusted HVAC Tech. I have to say, I’m pretty impressed with the innovations that were used in developing this environmentally-friendly cooling system.
Not only is this advanced system equipped with a 16 Seer rating for energy efficiency, but it’s been further tested with an HSPF energy usage of up to 9 BTU/watts per hour. HSPF stands for heating seasonal performance factor, which is another way of looking at your energy efficiency. Since the cooling plan has been carefully tested in both of these reading systems, I feel more confident in the data. I believe that it truly will operate for a lower energy cost then my traditional forced air furnace has for the last 20 years. Further, since anything over an HSPF rating of 8 is considered to be a high-efficiency, I feel as though this is extra validation that I’m getting my money’s worth.
How does a single system save you so much energy? By being two cooling systems in one! The Bryant 226a is both a high efficiency heat pump and a traditional variable speed furnace all in one. When you are cooling expectations are low, you can rely on the passive cooling power of the onboard heat pump. This will save you tons of energy whenever the system is engaged in heat pump mode. However, for those hotter and more humid days, the cooling system is also equipped with a two-stage scroll compressor for powerful air conditioning. No matter what is going on in your climate, this hi-tech air conditioning system is ready to work for you.
If you still aren’t convinced that Advanced Heating and Cooling options are necessary for you, I’d like you to consider the alternative. If you were to purchase a traditional dual speed furnace while living in a challenging environment, such as a tropical or desert climate, you might save money on the initial equipment purchase. You can probably find a cheap HVAC technician to complete the installation. However, you will end up paying for it in the long run. By having less efficient pulling power on your side, you will run your air conditioning unit more often. This will lead to higher energy costs every single month. In the long run, it will also cause your system to break down much sooner. You will not get the same lifespan out of low quality air conditioning equipment as purchasing highly rated cooling systems that are designed to withstand more extreme climate challenges. You might save a buck in the beginning, but you’re going to lose more in the end.
Maybe I’m just a huge fan boy from living in the Southwest, but I’m really excited about these new air conditioning options. As far as I can tell, the Bryant 226a heat pump and variable speed heating and cooling system is the perfect example of environmental innovation at work. If you don’t invest in an advanced and adaptable cooling system for yourself and your pocketbook, at least consider what it can do to help the environment.