E. Smith Heating & Air Blog

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Tax Incentives ending December 31^st!

The 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act federal tax credits for energy efficiency improvements to your home will expire on December 31^st of this year (as of this writing at the end of August no renewal has passed).  Combined with factory rebates up to $1,200, this is a great time to consider replacing your old system. Carrier has many high efficiency air conditioners and furnaces that qualify for the 30% tax credit.  Don’t let this great opportunity slip by. Call and have one of our sales professionals give you the details.

As of August 24, the Home Star legislation rebate program has passed in one version in the House but not in the Senate as a dedicated program.  There are less than 30 legislative days scheduled between now and the end of the year.  So to pass this rebate based program the Senate must act, compromise must occur between the two chambers, and funding set up.  This can certainly occur but much work remains.

According to the EPA website and other sources, Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that interferes with the delivery of oxygen throughout the body. At high concentrations it can cause unconsciousness and death and at lower concentrations it can cause a range of symptoms.  These can include headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea, confusion, disorientation, and fatigue in healthy people and episodes of increased chest pain in people with chronic heart disease. The symptoms are sometimes confused with the flu or food poisoning. Ironically folks with these symptoms are often told to rest at home until they feel better, sending them into environment causing the problem.  Fetuses, infants, elderly people, and people with anemia or with a history of heart or respiratory disease can be especially sensitive to carbon monoxide exposures.

The best way to avoid CO poisoning is to have an annual inspection of your furnace, flues, and chimneys and properly repair damaged parts assuring that there is no blockage to venting.  It is important to follow the manufactures recommended procedures on venting and filter changes.

Check out the next Cobb Women’s issue for information on carbon monoxide detectors in this section.

Your standard 1” furnace filter has a MERV rating of 1 to 4 and essentially provides protection for the equipment components but does not do much to clean the air in your home. So what are these ratings and what is available to really help in your home?

There are several tests for air filter comparisons including weight arrestance, atmospheric dust spot efficiency, DOP penetration, and the PSE test. To add to the confusion most products need more than one test to tell the whole story. The number and terminology you will see most often for residential media filter products is the MERV rating (minimum efficiency reporting value). This rating was developed by the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioner Engineers or ASHRAE in 1987. The higher the MERV the more efficient the filter will be in trapping airborne particles with MERV ratings ranging from 1 to 20 (residential systems are between 1 and 13).

There are very good products which can be installed adjacent to your furnace attaching to your ductwork with enhanced filter media providing MERV ratings between 10 and 13. One important thing to remember with all filters is to check and change when necessary. Without proper maintenance the filter will load up no longer filtering the air, blocking air flow, and stressing the equipment. Also the filter only works when the air is moving through it so continuous fan mode increases the passes and the cleansing of the air (information from Consumer Reports and from “The inside Story: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality” from the EPA website). For more information and ratings for certain products you can subscribe to Consumer Reports at consumerreports.org and review the archive articles with ratings and information. There is an article in the new issue for September 2010.

If you are away from your home for work, school, travel, or other activities programmable thermostats are worth the investment.  According to the Energy Star website the average single family dwelling household spends about half of their annual energy dollars on heating and cooling; AND that number is a substantial $2,200!

If you have a properly installed quality programmable thermostat you can save approximately $180.00 annually.  To achieve this savings or more you will need to allow the thermostat to control your indoor comfort most days.  In other words, set the program to meet your schedule and try not to override the program very often.  Below is a chart from www.energystar.gov that gives some idea of set points for efficiency:

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Absolutely, there are rebates from manufacturers, federal incentive dollars, Energy Star rebates, Atlanta Gas Light Energy Smart rebates, and E. Smith incentives.  For example Carrier has rebates up to $1,200 through June 30, 2010 and “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009” has rebates available up to $1,500 (the federal tax credit bill).  The State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program (SEEARP) through the Department of Energy has allotted Georgia $9.3 million dollars in a program that began February 12 of this year.  It is a first come first serve rebate program administered through the Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority (GEFA) and as of the beginning of May $4,498,517 rebate dollars remain available. These rebates are given for purchase of qualifying air conditioners, furnaces, and appliances (to check on remaining dollars and for more information please check www.georgiarebate.com). The Atlanta Gas light Company has rebates available through June 30^th through their Energy Smart program that includes $300.00 for a 90% furnace, $200.00 for an 80% furnace and a $100.00 bonus for an air conditioner purchased with a furnace.  In addition, E. Smith has instant rebates available for qualifying Carrier systems.

So, I believe the answer is a resounding yes; there are great opportunities to save money now and for years to come on your energy bills.  Call E. Smith at 770-422-1900 for a free estimate for replacement or to schedule service and visit our website at www.esmithair.com.

Is this a good time to buy a new system? It seems like it is getting into cooling season so it would be more expensive than in off season.

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What are some factors in deciding between replacing or repairing your heating and air conditioning system?

There are several things to consider when you get the news that you have a potentially expensive repair on your furnace, air conditioner, or heat pump.

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I have always heard that maintenance agreements are a waste of money, why should I purchase one for my heating and air conditioning system?

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