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Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C in Plano, Texas provides maintenance & repairs for all brands of Central A/C, Gas & Electric Furnace, and Heat Pumps.  Additionally we sell and install new HVAC Systems from American Standard (same company as Trane), Ameristar (same company as American Standard) and Coleman HVAC (same company as York HVAC).

Al’s also provides full service plumbing maintenance, repairs and replacements for every plumbing component in your home.  Al’s sells and installs Rheem Professional Series gas & electric water heaters, and tankless water heaters.  Al’s is near your home in Plano, Allen, and Frisco.  We service all homes in southern Collin and Denton Counties with no travel charges.

Call Al’s today to discuss any concerns or problems you have with your HVAC System or Plumbing.  We will arrange an appointment at your convenience and offer 24/7 Emergency Service.

DFW Heating Costs — Gas Furnace Versus Heat Pump

american standard platinum gold silver series hvac

 

DFW Heating-Costs Comparison For Gas Furnace Versus Heat Pump

NOTE: To compute your personal heating costs estimate, click on this link:  Heating Cost Calculator.   Enter the costs shown just below

  • DFW’s Cost Per 1,000 Cubic Feet (MCF) Of Natural Gas in Jan of 2017 was $9.71 per MCF.             (Source: https://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/hist/n3010tx3m.htm)
  • If you know your electricity kWh charges, enter them.  Otherwise, Enter 0.1098 per kWh for electricity (10.98 cents per kWh) — DFW’s average cost per kWh.

Example:  Heating-Costs Comparison — A 2,000 Square Foot DFW Home With 4 Occupants

  • Using 80% GAS Furnace: 60.2 MCF of Natural Gas X $9.71 per MCF:    $585.00 Annual Heating Cost – 80% Efficient Natural GAS Furnace.
  • Using 97% GAS Furnace:  51.2 MCF X $9.71 per MCF:                                $497.00 Annual Heating Cost – 97% Efficient Natural GAS Furnace.
  • Using a Standard Efficiency Heat Pump 7,450 kWh X 0.1098:        $810.00 Annual Heating Cost – Heat Pump.
  • Using an Electric Furnace: 11,775 kWh X 0.1098 per kWh:                $1,295.00 Annual Heating Cost – Electric Furnace.
  • Using 80% GAS Furnace: 678 Gallons Propane X $2.45 per Gallon:  $1,650.00 Annual Heating Cost – 80% Efficient PROPANE GAS Furnace.

NOTE:  If you have an ALL-ELECTRIC home, your can lower heating-costs by 1/3 or more with a Heat Pump HVAC System with back-up electric heat.

NOTE: If you heat with PROPANE, it’s very likely less expensive to heat with a Heat Pump + Back-Up Electric Heat.  Enter your Gallon of Propane and kWh costs into the calculator (link above) to compare.

You Can Further Decrease Heating-Costs With A Nest Thermostat

Nest’s Early-On Feature: When Setting The Thermostat Lower At Night, Or When Away From Home:

  • Nest learns how long it takes your furnace to reheat your home.
  • Nest goes on line (using your WiFi) and gets the outdoor temperature — in advance of the time the thermostat is to turn warmer.
  • When it’s colder outside, Nest turns your furnace on earlier, allowing it enough time to reheat your home to the temp you want & at the time you want.
  • When it’s warmer outside, Nest turns your furnace on later, as it needs less time to reheat your home.
  • Nest is quite accurate at having the indoor temperature at your preset temperature, at the pre-set time.
  • The Early-On Feature ensures the furnace will be turned on only as early as needed, based on the current outside temperature.

 

To learn more about the Nest Smart Thermostat: Click on these two links:

Nest Thermostat’s Benefits

The Nest App: Control Nest From Anywhere In The World

 

TIP: The #1 Thing You Can Do To Reduce Heating and Cooling Costs is to replace or clean your air-filter monthly.  If it looks dirty, it is, and it needs replaced.

Disposable filters must be replaced once they appear dirty.  It not replaced, they will eventually buckle, allowing unfiltered air around them.  As they get dirty, they reduce HVAC System Air-Flow, increasing heating and cooling costs.

Resusable filters must be cleaned monthly.  Their filtering capacity + HVAC System Air-Flow are greatly diminished as they get dirty.  As they get dirty, they dramatically reduce HVAC System Air-Flow, increasing heating and cooling costs.

This YouTube Video shows how to clean a Reusable Air-Filter:  YouTube — How To Clean A Reusable Air Filter

Electronic Air-Cleaners’ Collector-Plates must be cleaned monthly.  While it’s not likely they will reduce air-flow when dirty, their air-cleaning ability diminishes very fast.  This design provides a high level of performance when clean, but performance declines rapidly after the filter begins to get dirty with particulates.

The degradation in performance of a typical Electronic Air Cleaner can be traced to its design. Many units capture particulates with electrostatic-attraction across
collector-plates. A s particles build on the surface of the collector plate, the ability to attract new particles gets weaker. Neglected long enough, the unit becomes completely ineffective.

This YouTube Video shows how to clean an Electronic Air-Cleaner:  YouTube — How To Clean An Electronic Air Cleaner

 

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Al’s Plumbing, Heating & A/C in Plano, Texas provides maintenance & repairs for all brands of Central A/C, Gas & Electric Furnace, and Heat Pumps.  Additionally we sell and install new HVAC Systems from American Standard (same company as Trane), Ameristar (same company as American Standard) and Coleman HVAC (same company as York HVAC).

Al’s also provides full service plumbing maintenance, repairs and replacements for every plumbing component in your home.  Al’s sells and installs Rheem Professional Series gas & electric water heaters, and tankless water heaters.  Al’s is near your home in Wylie, Rowlette, and Murphy.  We service all homes in southern Collin and Denton Counties with no travel charges.

Call Al’s today to discuss any concerns or problems you have with your HVAC System or Plumbing.  We will arrange an appointment at your convenience and offer 24/7 Emergency Service.