As a homeowner in the Hampton Roads area of southeast Virginia, there's always the chance for inclement weather. This means you rely on the performance of your HVAC system to keep you comfortable without breaking the bank or the units. When you do need a new system, you can compare more than just the first cost. Using the yellow EnergyGuide label, you can compare lifetime costs including estimated energy usage.
The EnergyGuide program is administered by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The purpose for the program back in the 1970s was to give consumers important product information regarding energy efficiency. Using this information, you can make better decisions when comparing air conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, water heaters, refrigerators, clothes washers, dish washers, and more!
The EnergyGuide label helps you determine the lifetime cost of a specific product. In this way, you can compare lifetime cost of different systems you are considering installing in your home. This gives you the power to install a system that meets your exact needs. For example, a standard gas furnace with 80 AFUE is likely going to have a lower first cost than a high-efficiency condensing furnace with 98 AFUE. However, the energy savings and potentially lighter repairs of the higher-efficiency model may offset the difference of first cost by more than a substantial margin over its expected service life. Some of the important product information available on EnergyGuide labels includes:
To learn more about using the EnergyGuide label to your advantage when shopping for an HVAC system or other appliance, contact the pros at Russell's Heating & Cooling today. We've helped our customers make the right decisions about home comfort products since 1977! Our goal is to help educate our customers in Chesapeake, Virginia and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about EnergyGuide label and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 757-750-1831. Credit/Copyright Attribution: “Public Domain/Wikipedia”