Information contained on this page:
  • Gas Furnaces
  • Boilers
  • Air Conditioners
  • Humidifiers
    		•
  • Indoor air Quality Products
  • Air Cleaners
  • Duct cleaning

      • Gas Furnaces

      We primarily use Carrier brand furnaces and air conditioners, and they have features such as variable speed and 2 stage heating. Certain homes are better suited for one type over another. The following is a brief description of some of the furnaces.

      For more information on Carrier Furnaces and Air conditioners Click Here and click the Back button to return to this web site.

      90+ Gas Furnaces:
      These furnaces have A.F.U.E. (Annual fuel utilization efficiencies) ratings from 90% to 96%. That means you receive more than 90 cents of heat for every dollar you spend on gas. They are condensing furnaces which means there is water in the flue gases. In all cases the flue gases must be exhausted through a white plastic (PVC) pipe, typically to the side or rear of the house. This is a more expensive furnace with an installed cost range of $2,500.00 to $4,800.00. This type of furnace should show savings of 25% to 40% depending on the type and age of furnace you are replacing. A homeowner with a large old house, or high gas bills (a thousand dollars or more in the Pittsburgh area), or one who plans on being in the home at least ten years is a good candidate for the 90+. With a lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger it is a unit that will give you years of dependable satisfaction.


      80+ Gas Furnaces:
      The A.F.U.E. on these can be from 78% to 82%. The flue gases exhaust at a higher temperature than the 90+ furnace, therefore it can be vented through most chimney's. However in many homes a metal flexible liner must be pulled through your existing chimney. This protects against the flue gases cooling and condensing in the chimney. The water would then seep back into the home and do damage to the plaster. An 80+ furnace can be installed in a price range of $1,900.00 to $3,800.00 and has a 20 year warranty on the heat exchanger. A homeowner with a small house and small gas bills, or someone who is not going to live in the home for more than 5 years would likely choose this model. It is less expensive to buy and gives you savings of 15% to 25% depending on the type and age of furnace you are replacing.


      Hot Water & Steam Boilers

      Hot water boilers are the most common boilers in our area. They usually have a water pump and are made of cast iron, the hot water is pumped through cast iron or copper fin radiators. Boilers are filled with water and need to have the air bled out of them seasonally. Older boilers have lasted a long time, many in operation today have been around for forty or fifty years. The down side to the long life is that long ago they became very inefficient. A New 80+ efficient boilers can cut your gas bill by 25% to 40%. They have an average installed price range of $2,900.00 to $4,500.00.


      Steam boilers are similar in look and design to a hot water boiler but the cast iron radiators are not filled with water, they are empty. As a small amount of water is heated in the boiler, steam is created and travels through the system. The steam then heats the radiators in the rooms, cools down and allows the steam to condense and drain back and be ready for the next cycle. This is a more expensive system with a price range of $3,900.00 to $5,000.00.


      Air Conditioners

      Again we choose to install primarily Carrier Air Conditioners. They are similar in many ways, including size (listed as "tons of air conditioning) and SEER ratings (seasonal energy efficiency ratio). Often when replacing or adding an air conditioner it is wise to replace the furnace at the same time. It is not essential, but if the unit is older than ten to fifteen years it could be a substantial savings rather than replacing the AC this year and the furnace a couple years later.




      What about this new freon??

      The "Freon" currently used in most home air conditioners contains chlorine compounds which, if released into the atmosphere, destroy the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. Although systems using Freon will not be officially banned for 10 years, as the phase-out restricts supply, consumers can expect to see Freon prices rise. This is because, while the availability of Freon decreases, the demand for air conditioners will continue to climb.

      A comparable situation occurred with the recent phase-out of Freon 12, in automotive air conditioners. Between 1990 and 1997, the wholesale price of Freon 12 rose 750%. In dollars that's from about $ per pound to $30 per pound.

      Considering the life expectancy of a home air conditioner is roughly 15 to 20 years, a new air conditioner purchased now can be expected to last well into the phase-out period. That means homeowners who purchase a Freon system can expect to see repair costs rise substantially over it's lifetime.

      "Puron" is the new style of Freon that is environmentally sound. Puron was developed by Carrier Air Conditioning Co. in conjunction with Allied Signal the foremost innovator in refrigeration technology. If you are in the market for while house air conditioning this is a product you should give strong considerations to.

      Humidifier

      When a gas forced air furnace operates, they tend to dry the air in our homes for a number of reasons. When the air is dry it feels cooler. By adding humidity to the air we make our homes more comfortable, it also makes the inside environment healthier. The germs that cause the common cold thrive in dry air. When we raise the humidity level up to 30% or 40% our bodies are most comfortable. These can be installed for anywhere from $300.00 to $500.00.

      Indoor air Quality

      This is a term we are all becoming more familiar with. The air outside is naturally cleaned by rain, snow, trees and wind among other things. Inside we have to rely on the filtering systems of our HVAC systems. Much of the ductwork contains layers of dust, dirt and construction debris. This is perfect breeding ground for dust mites, mold, spores and other organic matter that, when we breath causes all kinds of known and unknown problems. The simple solution is to remove the dirt from the system. There are a number of ways, a few of the most common are discussed below.

      Air cleaners

      There are two basic types of air cleaners, electronic and mechanical both described below. You also have a choice of a more efficient throw away paper filter or electrostatic filters that fit into existing 1" openings on your basic furnace. Obviously those are the less expensive option and the one that traps the least dust. The purpose of Air filters are to clean the air as it passes through the HVAC system. This keeps the equipment cleaner and therefore less service problems and longer life. It also helps clean the pollutants in the air that we breath every day giving us less irritants to breath and keeping us healthier. This is good for everyone, even those who don't suffer from allergies.


      Electronic air cleaners:
      EAC's are made up of a power pack and metal cells. The power pack energizes the cells and by giving the air an opposite charge than the cells, causing the dirt to adhere to the cells. Keeping the cells clean is essential for these units to work, with no area for the dirt to bond to it passes right through. They must be cleaned at least once a month, the biggest cause for failure is dirty cells and a power pack burns out. It is an expensive repair. With that in mind and the fact most people have more on there schedules than to keep the EAC clean, they usually stay dirty and defeat the purpose for getting one. If you aren't the type to be good about scheduled maintenance, choose another air filter. Normal installation is between $800.00 and $1800.00. When installed with a furnace there is less installation cost.


      Mechanical air cleaners:
      From the outside it looks just like an EAC, however it has no electrical parts. Instead it has a removable media filter inside. This media will last a year in the average home. The technology of the filter is a very large surface area to trap millions of dust particles. By using an accordion shape design for the media filter they achieve hundreds of times the collection area of a normal filter. These units can be installed for a cost of $400.00 to $850.00. If purchased with the installation of an new furnace it is a large savings on the initial price.

      Duct cleaning

      Everyone today does it, from your local department store to carpet cleaners to professional HVAC contractors. There are many different vacuum's used to clean ducts, some better than others. By the nature of the job it only makes sense to get the job done right, by someone who has been trained to service and install HVAC systems. At Phillips Heating & AC CO we use a "Power Duct Vacuum" it is mounted in a trailer we pull behind one of our service vans. All duct cleanings done by us are performed by trained heating and air conditioning service technicians. Large sweeper hoses are run from the trailer to the ductwork at the furnace. With all the registers covered, the vacuum is turned on and dirt is sucked back to the trailer. Then each register is individually blown down and we access the ductwork at different spots in the basement. Through those access holes (that are covered after the cleaning), we feed in a Power Duct Whip. This patented whip "scrubs" the dirt off the inside of the duct, leaving it as clean and dirt free as possible. A proper job will take 4 to 8 hours depending on the size of your home and amount of ductwork. It should cost between $350.00 to $600.00. At the same time the ductwork can be sanitized for a small additional fee. This kills any remaining micrograms in the system.


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