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Replacing the heating and cooling equipment in your Knoxville, TN home is a chance to explore new and emerging HVAC technologies. You can lower your carbon footprint, cut your home energy bills, and improve your indoor air quality (IAQ) among other things. However, understanding the different factors that influence the cost of these projects is key to setting your budget correctly. Read on to discover seven factors that could have a significant impact on your spending.
1. Fuel Conversions
In 2023, the State of Tennessee passed legislation prohibiting small, local municipalities from implementing bans on natural gas appliances. Thus, while consumers in other parts of the nation are scrambling to electrify their homes, Knoxville locals can still choose from a diverse range of fuel types, including:
- Propane
- Heating oil
- Natural gas
- Wood
- Bituminous coal
Tennessee is often referred to as “bituminous coal country.” With large deposits of coal found along the state’s northeast-southwest belt, coal-burning boilers and furnaces are both popular choices. In fact, many of the more than two million American households that still rely on coal reside in the region.
While emission-producing fuels, like coal and natural gas, are often much cheaper than electricity, many homeowners are weary of the risks and extra work that using them entails. From dodging carbon monoxide leaks to mitigating the indoor air quality (IAQ) concerns of dirty chimneys, some are more than ready to make a switch. Whether you’re moving from heating oil to electricity, coal to natural gas, or propane to natural gas, be prepared to pay for new infrastructure. Heater installation projects like these require additional measures like:
- Locating, establishing, or capping gas lines
- Resizing or relocating furnace storage areas
- Making electrical improvements
- Installing new, equipment-appropriate venting systems
If you’re interested in limiting your HVAC installation costs and aren’t truly unhappy with the fuel type that you currently use, choosing equipment that relies on it may be the best choice.
2. Air Distribution Systems
HVAC air ducts can have a considerable impact on heater and AC replacement costs. If your home has existing ductwork, you’ll find that its lifespan is just slightly shorter than that of heaters and ACs. If your air ducts have sections that are sagging, perforated, or crushed, you might need new ductwork installed to complement your new heating or cooling equipment.
Homes That Lack Existing Ductwork
If your home lacks HVAC air ducts, you can have your home retrofitted with ducting. Post-construction ductwork can add several thousand dollars to your project costs. An alternative to post-construction ductwork is to have a ductless mini-split system put in instead. Ductless ACs and heat pumps have separate air handlers in each zone or room that distribute conditioned air right where it’s produced.
While ductless mini-split systems cost more than central air conditioners or furnaces, ductless mini-split heat pumps provide both heating and cooling. Moreover, the costs of purchasing and installing a ductless mini-split system are often lower than the combined costs of retrofitting ductwork and purchasing and installing a new heater or AC.
3. HVAC Equipment Sizes
Sizing for HVAC equipment is all about determining the right heating and cooling capacity for the intended service area. To get this measurement just right, we use the Manual J Load Calculation which accounts for factors like:
- Household sizes
- Window types
- Insulation amounts
- Ceiling heights
- Building layouts
If you have lots of square footage, vaulted ceilings, and many panoramic windows, you’ll likely pay a bit more to get the right heater or AC capacity.
4. Efficiency Ratings
All heaters, heat pumps, and air conditioners come with efficiency ratings. These denote how effective these units are at converting fuel or electricity into heating or cooling energy. The higher that a model’s efficiency rating is, the more costly it will ultimately be. However, with high-efficiency equipment, you’ll enjoy noticeably lower home energy bills.
Furnaces have annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) ratings. The minimum AFUE rating for a gas-fired furnace is 80%. This means that the least expensive furnace models convert just 80% of the fuel they consume into heat. The rest is lost as exhaust gases. The highest efficiency rating for a gas furnace is 98.5%. High-efficiency gas-fired furnaces come with two heat exchangers, tightly sealed combustion chambers, and other upgrades that drive their upfront prices up.
The most efficient furnaces are electric furnaces which come with AFUE ratings of 100%. However, electricity rates are significantly higher than the price of natural gas. Thus, you could wind up paying more to have an electric furnace installed and use it over time.
Heat pumps come with heating seasonal performance factor (HSPF) ratings that measure their efficiency as heaters. They also receive seasonal energy efficiency ratio (SEER) ratings that measure their performance in cooling. SEER or SEER2 ratings are also assigned to air conditioners.
In climates like Knoxville’s, heat pumps can provide outstanding levels of efficiency year-round. Thus, not only are they a popular choice, but they can also be a costly one. The minimum SEER for heat pumps and ACs in Tennessee is 14, but targeting options with ratings of at least 16 could qualify you for some pretty impressive incentives.
5. Optional Accessories
Most households throughout the nation have already replaced their standard thermostats with programmable models. With a programmable thermostat, you can schedule pre-set temperature adjustments to reflect your changing heating and cooling needs.
The next step in the residential thermostat’s evolution was the introduction of smart thermostats. These learning devices are auto-adjusting over time. They eliminate human error and oversight and allow for maximum energy savings. Available with branded apps, smart thermostats also offer remote functionality. When using connected devices, consumers can track temperature changes in their homes, monitor humidity and IAQ, and make manual thermostat adjustments. If you haven’t made this upgrade already, it’s an important one to consider. According to ENERGY STAR, you may be able to shave as much as 8% off of your annual heating and cooling costs by having a smart thermostat installed.
Other integrated HVAC accessories that you might want to add include whole-house dehumidifiers, humidifiers, air scrubbers, and air purifiers. These work well for people who want cleaner, fresher-smelling indoor air, but they’re also often essential for homes with ongoing IAQ and humidity control concerns.
6. Zoning or Uniform Air Delivery?
Standard, central HVAC systems provide uniform air delivery. If you have a standard, central HVAC system, it creates the same temperature throughout all areas of your house. Unfortunately, this means paying to condition the air in unused rooms. Uniform heating and cooling also lead to frequent arguments at the thermostat.
Zoning is a key element of modern, smart HVAC systems. It divides homes into two to four separate service areas. Each area has a smart thermostat that communicates with a central control system. Depending upon the signals received, this system routes heated or cooled air to or away from rooms. If you opt to have your central HVAC system zoned, be ready to pay for multiple smart thermostats, a central zone control system, bypass ducts, duct dampers, and other modifications.
7. Available Tax Credits and Rebates
Getting the heating and cooling equipment you want doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Under the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), homeowners who make qualifying efficiency upgrades can enjoy generous tax credits. The IRA also allocated funds to individual states to implement special rebate programs of their own. You can contact your utility service provider and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation to find out more about these.
We help homeowners in Knoxville, TN save cash while boosting their home comfort. We offer outstanding cooling, heating, and IAQ services. We also provide new ductwork, ductless mini-split systems, duct cleaning, and standby generators. For a hassle-free quote or to schedule an appointment, contact 865 HVAC today.
