Clean Energy Comfort

Salem's leading provider of heating and cooling systems

Salem:

503-304-1320

Portland:

503-982-6082

CCB #193064

How Much Will a New Air Conditioner Cost?

By

If you are interested in adding air conditioning to your home this summer, one of the first questions you will ask is “how much will a new air conditioner cost?” The answer to this question is not as easily determined as it may be for other home appliances. There are multiple factors that can sway the cost of an air conditioner installation, such as size required, installation procedure, electrical requirements, etc. In short, asking “how much will a new air conditioner cost” is about the same as asking “how much is a bag of groceries?” It depends on what goes into it, right? Let us outline what this process looks like.

What Size Air Conditioner Will Properly Cool the Home?

One of the first things we determine during a comfort consultation, is what size heating and/or cooling equipment is needed for the home? We use a load calculation program called Manual J, which takes into account cubic footage of the home, square footage of exterior walls, square footage of windows, insulation values, the home’s directional orientation, and weather data for your area. Window sizes and directional orientation play a huge role in determining the size of air conditioner required. South and West facing windows take on much more solar gain than North facing windows, and can make a big difference in cooling loads.

How Will the Air Conditioner be Installed?

Air conditioner installation is an elaborate process. First, we need to determine a location for the outdoor unit. Questions such as “Where would you like to see the air conditioner?” “Are there property line set back requirements in your area?” “How will we route the refrigerant lines to the air conditioner?” will all need to be answered. Once we have a spot picked out for the air conditioner, we need to look at the furnace. We will need to install an indoor evaporator coil at the furnace, which will connect to the outdoor air conditioner using refrigerant lines. This indoor coil is the part that actually cools down the air as it flows. At times we have to raise the furnace to allow for the indoor coil, which can add to the cost. During this evaluation process, we also look at how long the refrigerant lines will need to be, and how we will route them, as well as looking at the electrical panel to make sure it will be able to handle the new air conditioner.

Which Air Conditioner Would You Like?

Once the air conditioner’s size and installation process is determined, we then look at the air conditioner options that are available. There are many different types of air conditioners varying in efficiency and operation. There are base efficiency air conditioners which will cool the home adequately, but will cost more to run; and there are high efficiency air conditioners which will use less electricity to cool the home. Some air conditioners also have different modes of operation. Single stage air conditioners always run at their full capacity, and are either on or off. There are also two stage air conditioners, which have a low and a high setting. Two stage air conditioners will run on low if they can cool the home from there, and will automatically kick into high cooling if needed. The latest technology are variable capacity air conditioners, which have a wide range of operation from low to high, and will vary to provide the exact amount of cooling that the house is requiring at any given time.

Now, How Much?

Now that you know more about the process of selecting an air conditioner for your home, I hope you can see why it is not easy to answer “How much will a new air conditioner cost?” There is a lot that goes into making sure we have the right air conditioner for you and your home. Once we have answered all the questions above, we provide you with an air conditioner installation proposal, which will generally feature a few systems to choose from. At this point we can talk about financing options, and any other incentives that might be available. The entire described process costs you zero, but can be the difference in having a comfortable home this summer, or not. If you would like an in home comfort consultation, please contact us today!

Air Conditioner

Air Conditioner installed by CEC

Common Sense Contracting

By

At Clean Energy Comfort, we apply a common sense approach to contracting. As a heating and air conditioning contractor, we hear all too often from our customers that they had a bad experience with a previous contractor, HVAC or otherwise. We try to provide the best experience for our customers using 4 basic principles:

Responsiveness

As consumers, when we have a question or concern, we want it answered. At CEC, we try to make ourselves available to answer these questions and/or concerns in a timely fashion.

Provide Quality Products and Service

Things are changing rapidly in the world, and the heating and air conditioning field is no exception. We go through constant product training to make sure we stay up on current innovations in home comfort, and are able to offer you the best products and service on the market.

Provide Value

Every house is different, as is every homeowner. We meet with our customers up front to determine the heating and cooling demands of the home by performing a load calculation, and then we propose a few different system options that will meet those demands, as well as satisfying the customer’s comfort needs/wants.

Cleanliness

We understand that you are asking us into your home to provide you with a comfortable experience. We will respect your home, and leave it cleaner than we found it. We also take pride in making our installations functional and form fitting.

Clean Energy Comfort is not just a name, it’s a statement. We will keep your home CLEAN, we will help you save ENERGY, and we will give you COMFORT.

What Size Air Conditioner Will Work for My Home?

By

If you are in the market for a new air conditioner for your home, one of the most important questions to have answered is what size air conditioner you will need. The only true way to know what size air conditioner your home will require, is to have a load calculation performed. For load calculations, manual J is the industry standard, and should be used by your heating & cooling contractor. This program will take into account the weather data for your area, cubic footage of the home, exterior wall lengths, insulation values, type and size of windows, type and size of exterior doors, as well as the home’s directional orientation.

All of these factors are calculated in the program, and the heating and cooling demands of the home are determined. These factors are very important. The old stand by was to use square footage to determine the cooling load of a home. The problem with this method is that it doesn’t take into account all of the above factors. You can take the same exact floor plan, one house being constructed to the standards of 1970, and one with today’s efficiency standards, and each house will require a different amount of heating and cooling. Additionally, you can take the same floor plan, with the same insulation, window, etc., but one house may have a majority of windows facing north, while the other has majority of it’s windows facing south or west. These two houses will have different heating & cooling requirements due to sun exposure.

The goal of a load calculation is to provide the closest match of a heating & cooling system for your particular home. Many contractors cut corners here, because of the time involved, so if you are looking to purchase a new furnace and/or air conditioner, be sure to ask that a load calculation be performed. We perform the load calculations at no cost as a part of our proposal process. If you would like us to take a look at your home, please contact us.

Rheem Instant Savings Promotion

By

rheem-spring-promo-productsSave up to $1,200 Instantly

From March 15th to June 15th, 2013, homeowners can take advantage of a Rheem Instant Rebate that offers savings up to $1,200 with the purchase and installation of a Rheem heating and cooling system.

It’s Easy

There’s no paperwork for you to fill out. We take care of everything.

Get Started

[divider style=”dashed”]

Why Rheem?

rheemRheem gives you the value, performance and features you want, and they offer top-rated air conditioners and furnaces to satisfy the budgets and lifestyles of every customer.

Rheem air conditioners have been rated #1 Most Reliable by the Nation’s leading consumer products review magazine.

Springtime in Oregon, and Nature’s Reminders

By

A beautiful mid-March day in Oregon is the perfect reminder of what a great place we live.  The darkness and rain give way, for a brief moment, to allow us to roll down the windows, and take in the fresh air; and it gives us that glimpse we need into the great days that lie ahead.  Having grown up in Oregon, I have always loved the balance of weather that we have here.  By the end of winter, I am ready for sun and summer, and by the end of summer, I am actually ready for the cool relief of a rainy, foggy fall.  We are very fortunate to live in such a beautiful place, and I am very thankful for it.  I wanted to share this sentiment with you, and I will also take this opportunity to say that this season change is the perfect time to have us perform maintenance on your heating and cooling system.  We will change your filter to get you ready for allergy season, and perform a complete and thorough cleaning on your air conditioning system to make sure it’s ready for summer.  We have three maintenance packages available, so contact us to find out more.  Oh, and enjoy this weather!

Are Ductless Heat Pumps Really That Efficient?

By

The short answer is yes, they are.  For a more detailed demonstration on the efficiency of ductless heat pump systems, I point you to a case study we started over a year ago.  Muddy Creek Charter School is a small elementary school on the outskirts of Corvallis, Oregon.  They were suffering through winters at the school with their heating system, which was an oil boiler with air handlers that served the classrooms, library, office, and gym areas.  Not only was this heating system very inefficient, but it also provided little to no ventilation for the school, and they had no air conditioning when the warmer weather would set in.  We installed Mitsubishi ductless heat pump systems for each of the 7 classrooms and the library.  For the gym, we installed a Rheem roof top package heat pump system to heat and cool, and provide fresh air ventilation.  For the classrooms we also installed an Energy Recovery Ventilator (ERV) to provide very efficient fresh air, making the classrooms a much healthier environment.

Recently I met with Mr. Hayes, the Principal at Muddy Creek, and he shared with me his utility cost savings over the previous year.  Comparing 2011 to 2012, the electric bill for the school actually went down a nominal amount.  The kicker here is the savings they are realizing by not having to purchase heating oil.  The school was budgeting a whopping $12,000 to $16,000 per year for heating oil, and now that burden is lifted.  As you can imagine this will do great things for the school in terms of their budgeting for the future; and they now have a healthier, more comfortable environment for the children to learn in.

As a disclosure, the roof top heat pump system for the gym was not running during the comparison period, and we have not yet installed the ductless units to feed the office area.  I can assure you though, that these variables will not make that much of a dent in their savings.  The school plans on hopefully finishing up the project around the end of the school year.

This is an example of what ductless heat pump systems can do on a larger scale.  Ductless heat pumps, also known as mini splits, are great heating and cooling systems for residential applications as well.  There are also some great incentives from utilities and tax credits that are available for residential applications.  If you would like to learn more about how a ductless heat pump system could save you money on your heating and cooling costs, then please give Clean Energy Comfort a call, and let us show you.  Additionally, Mr. Hayes gave his blessing on this article, and added that he would be happy to speak with anyone who would like to hear more about their story.

Should I have my heating and air conditioning system maintained?

By

Preventative maintenance for a heating and air conditioning system is something that is often times overlooked. Some homeowners choose not to pay any attention to their heating and cooling system until there is a problem with it, or the system is no longer functioning. These problems can be very costly to repair, and can many times necessitate replacement of the heating and/or cooling system. A simple once a year maintenance on your heating and cooling system can greatly increase the life of your heating and cooling system, as well as help to maintain the efficiency of the system over time. These factors will save you money in the long run. Now I’m not saying that if you have a maintenance done every year you’ll never have to replace your system, but I am saying that you can extend the life of the system by at least a couple of years, and the energy that is saved by the system operating at peak efficiency over it’s lifespan will more than pay for the maintenance you are having done.

I like to use cars as a parallel. The auto industry has done a great job of making people aware of the benefits of having an oil change every 3 months or 3,000 miles. If you ask most people out there, they would be able to tell you when they should have their oil changed. Conversely most people don’t know when or why they should service their heating and cooling equipment. If you look at your monthly utility cost, and realize that a heating and cooling system makes up a large portion of that, and then also factor in that a new system can rival the price of a car, it starts to make more sense as to why we should pay more attention to our heating and cooling systems.

What does a maintenance on a heating and cooling system include? The answer to this question will vary based on who you choose to do the maintenance. At Clean Energy Comfort we do a very thorough, very entailed inspection and cleaning. Aside from changing out your air filter, and vacuuming out your furnace, which is the extent of what you’ll get with some of the “$79-$99 tune ups” that you will find advertised, we will really get down to the nitty gritty. On a furnace we will inspect and clean the burners, inspect the heat exchanger and clean if necessary, pull the blower and clean the fins as well as lubricate if necessary, check circuitry, perform safety checks, and run test. With an air conditioning system we rinse and clean debris off the outdoor unit, clean the indoor coil located at the furnace, check refrigerant pressures, check circuitry, perform safety checks, and run test.

To summarize, keeping your heating and cooling equipment maintained and in good working order is very important, and you can be sure that Clean Energy Comfort will make it worth your investment.