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Comfort and safety are cornerstones of a healthy living environment. Together, they shape the well-being and peace of mind of everyone in your home. While there are many ways to enhance domestic tranquility, few are as essential as your HVAC system. From temperature control and air quality to humidity regulation and circulation, your heating and cooling system influences nearly every aspect of your home’s indoor climate. Choosing the right HVAC system isn’t just a decision; it’s a foundation for your home’s long-term safety, comfort, and efficiency. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you make an informed selection.
Understand Your Needs
Selecting the right HVAC system begins with a clear understanding of your unique personal needs. Do you need cooling to beat the summer heat, reliable heating for cold seasons, or a hybrid system that does both?
Next, evaluate the air quality in your indoor and outdoor environment. If you live in a region with high levels of pollution, for example, in a busy urban area or near a factory or a major highway, you’ll need a system with highly rated filters to trap all contaminants. Similarly, if anyone in your household has respiratory conditions or allergies, a unit with advanced filtration capabilities, such as HEPA filters or built-in air purifiers, can make a meaningful difference in their overall wellness.
Additionally, factor in your budget, not just for the initial purchase but also for long-term maintenance and repair costs. However, don’t let your financial situation prevent you from getting the best system for your home. Many HVAC contractors, including us, offer flexible financing options that make high-quality solutions more accessible. We are currently offering a promotion that includes no interest charges if you pay for your HVAC system in full within 18 months.
Last but not least, consider your home size. A large home typically requires a more powerful system to meet the higher heating or cooling demands efficiently and vice versa. If the system is undersized or oversized, it may struggle to maintain consistent indoor temperatures, wear out prematurely, and consume excessive energy.
To avoid these issues, it’s essential to have a professional perform a load calculation using Manual J. This industry-standard assessment considers factors such as square footage, home layout, insulation levels, window placement, ceiling height, number of household members, and the local climate.
Types of Cooling Systems
If you are looking for a cooling system, your options could include:
Central Air Conditioning
Central air conditioning is a whole-home cooling system that uses a network of ducts to supply cool air throughout a building from a central location. It can be further grouped into two categories: packaged systems and split systems. A packaged system has a single outdoor cabinet that contains all the components needed to pull in air, condition it, and distribute it to ducts supplying every room. This compact design makes them ideal for homes with limited indoor space, as it simplifies installation and reduces the footprint inside the home.
On the other hand, a split system separates the components between the indoor and outdoor units. The indoor unit, also known as the air handler, houses the evaporator coils and fans, while the outdoor unit contains the compressor and condenser. The benefit of installing a split system is that you can pair it with a heating unit for a unified setup that serves you all year.
Ductless Systems
A ductless HVAC unit is a type of split system that operates without a network of ducts. Instead, it uses one or more indoor units (typically mounted on walls or ceilings) that are designed to condition air directly in the rooms where they’re installed. These units work independently, drawing in warm air, cooling it, and circulating it within the same space.
A compound known as a refrigerant makes all this possible. This highly volatile liquid extracts heat from the indoor air, cooling it down. It will then travel to the outdoor unit with the heat absorbed to release it into the outside environment. While at the outdoor unit, it is cooled once again and sent back to the indoor coils to extract more heat from the indoor air. This cycle will repeat itself until your targeted temperature is reached.
The outdoor and indoor units are connected by a conduit that houses refrigerant tubing, communication cables, electrical wiring, and drain lines. This conduit only needs a hole that’s about three to five inches in diameter, making the installation less invasive and more flexible than central air conditioners.
Types of Heating Systems
Heating systems you can install include:
A Furnace
A furnace is a system that uses electricity, oil, propane, or gas to heat indoor air to your desired temperature. Electric furnaces generate heat through a process called electrical resistance. When electricity flows through certain materials (tungsten, nichrome, etc.), the current collides with their atoms, generating heat as a result. Fuel-based furnaces, on the other hand, ignite oil, propane, or gas to produce heat inside a combustion chamber. This combustion warms a heat exchanger, which then transfers heat to indoor air. A blower fan pushes the warmed air through the ductwork, distributing it evenly throughout the house.
A Boiler
Boilers use hot water or steam to deliver warmth throughout the home. Unlike furnaces, which distribute heated air through ductwork, these systems use radiators, baseboard heaters, or radiant floor panels to transfer heat directly into each room. This method offers quiet, consistent comfort without circulating airborne particles, making boilers especially beneficial for individuals with allergies or respiratory sensitivities.
Heating and Cooling in One Package
A hybrid system, in this context, refers to an HVAC setup that can provide both heating and cooling for your home. The only equipment that can do this is a heat pump or a packaged HVAC system. The technology behind this versatility is its ability to reverse refrigerant flow.
During the cooling season, the system extracts heat from the indoor air and expels it outside, just as a ductless mini-split does. In heating mode, it does the opposite: extracting heat from the outdoor environment and transferring it inside. For the coldest nights, some people combine a heat pump with a furnace installation, where the furnace takes over for below-freezing temperatures. This isn’t usually necessary in Tennessee, but can be handy for cold snaps.
Energy Efficiency Ratings
Energy efficiency ratings help you determine how much energy your HVAC system will consume during operation. The higher the rating, the less energy the system uses to deliver your desired level of comfort, which means lower utility bills and reduced environmental impact.
The ratings you should look for include SEER, AFUE, and HSPF. SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) applies to central ACs, ductless mini-splits, and heat pumps in cooling mode. AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) is used for furnaces and boilers, while HSPF (Heating Seasonal Performance Factor) applies to heat pumps in heating mode.
Contact A/C Plus Heating & Cooling for More Information
Selecting the right HVAC system for your home is just the beginning. For optimal performance, long-term efficiency, and durability, professional installation is essential. Reach out to A/C Plus Heating & Cooling for guidance through every step, from choosing the ideal heating or cooling system to a code-compliant setup. We guarantee 100% customer satisfaction.
Call A/C Plus Heating & Cooling today for HVAC system installation in Murfreesboro.
