Electric Resistance Heating
Electric resistance heating converts nearly 100% of the energy in the electricity to heat. However, most electricity is produced from coal, gas, or oil generators that convert only about 30% of the fuel's energy into electricity. Because of electricity generation and transmission losses, electric heat is often more expensive than heat produced in the home or business using combustion appliances, such as natural gas, propane, and oil furnaces
Pros: Easy to install. Inexpensive to install.
Cons: Most expensive month to month form of heating.
Active Solar Heating
Active solar heating systems use solar energy to heat a fluid -- either liquid or air -- and then transfer the solar heat directly to the interior space or to a storage system for later use. If the solar system cannot provide adequate space heating, an auxiliary or back-up system provides the additional heat.
Pros: Minimal Cost to maintain and "free" heating and hot water.
Cons: Space consuming. High original investment. Only used as supplementary source of hot water.
air conditioning
It's all about the humidity in the Summer here. The humidity can ruin a Summer. Imagine if you could heat and cool your building for the same cost as you heat now!
Brad Morawski
Air Filters and Air Cleaners
Indoor air pollutants are unwanted, sometimes harmful materials in the air. Indoor air pollution is among the top five environmental health risks. Usually the best way to address this risk is to control or eliminate the sources of pollutants, and to ventilate a home with clean outdoor air. The ventilation method may, however, be limited by weather conditions or undesirable levels of contaminants contained in outdoor air. If these measures are insufficient, an air cleaning device may be useful. Air cleaning devices are intended to remove pollutants from indoor air. Some air cleaning devices are designed to be installed in the ductwork of a home’s central heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system to clean the air in the whole house.
Read More: https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/guide-air-cleaners-home
Pros: Pure indoor air. Reduced dust and airborne particles. Reduced allergies. Electronic Air Cleaners require no annual parts.
Cons: Require annual maintenance. Replaceable filters can be expensive.
Whole House/Building Humidifiers
Whole-house humidifiers connect to the buildings central heating system and inject controlled amounts of moisture into the heated airflow from the furnace. Water vapor travels throughout the house, keeping humidity levels in a healthy and comfortable range. Controlled humidity within the home prevents condensation of water on walls and other surfaces but keeps the air moist enough for warmth and comfortable breathing. Whole-house humidifiers provide environmental control of the entire living space within the home.
Read More: http://www.livestrong.com/article/263812-why-use-a-whole-house-humidifier/
Pros: Increases indoor comfort and efficiency
Cons: Require annual maintenance
Forced Air Zoning
Some could say we have control issues. It's in our name. The reality is that efficiency and indoor comfort comes through how you control your system.
Zoning is one key way to gain the most even temperatures. You would not put one light switch in your house so why have one thermostat?
Pros: Increased comfort and lower utilities
Cons: Cost of installation
Furnaces and Boilers
Most U.S. homes are heated with either furnaces or boilers. Furnaces heat air and distribute the heated air through the house using ducts. Boilers heat water, and provide either hot water or steam for heating. Steam is distributed via pipes to steam radiators, and hot water can be distributed via baseboard radiators or radiant floor systems, or can heat air via a coil. Steam boilers operate at a higher temperature than hot water boilers, and are inherently less efficient, but high-efficiency versions of all types of furnaces and boilers are currently available.
Furnace:
Pros: Forced air can be filtered and control humidity. Ultra High efficiency. Easy to add Central Air Conditioning.
Cons: Can be drafty when not installed properly.
Boiler:
Pros: Comfortable heat.
Cons: No way to filter or condition air.
heating
We have no choice but to heat our buildings in cold climates. Let us help you do it for less. We can design a system for you or work with the one you have. Either way you make a wise investment and save!
Multi-Port Units
These units match multiple indoor units to a single outdoor unit. The larger the unit the less efficient these can run. These are an excellent way to cool multiple rooms with individual thermostats as a less expensive option that forced air zoning or VRV/VRF.
Pros: Multiple Room Zoning, Cost
Cons: Every indoor unit has to be piped back to the outdoor unit, low heating value in cold climates
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Individual 1:1 Units
These units use a single indoor unit matched with a single outdoor unit. They can be ducted, wall mount, or ceiling mounted. These units are typically very efficient and easy to install.
Pros: Easy to install and inexpensive
Cons: Only serve one room, low heating value in cold climates
Heat Pumps
For climates with moderate heating and cooling needs, heat pumps offer an energy-efficient alternative to furnaces and air conditioners. Like your refrigerator, heat pumps use electricity to move heat from a cool space to a warm space, making the cool space cooler and the warm space warmer. During the heating season, heat pumps move heat from the cool outdoors into your warm house and during the cooling season, heat pumps move heat from your cool house into the warm outdoors. Because they move heat rather than generate heat, heat pumps can provide up to 4 times the amount of energy they consume.
Pros: Very efficient when used with gas heat (Hybrid System). Air Conditioning Included.
Cons: Misunderstood. Requires duct work.
**The above descriptions can be found by clicking each link and were found at www.energy.gov. The pro's and con's are opinions of Comfort Control Mechanical Inc. based on our experience in New England.
Thermostats
A thermostat can be as simple as a traditional Honeywell "Round" thermostat or as advanced as using your iPad or Android Tablet to control your heat from overseas. Depending on what you want, we can install it for you. There are no downsides to a quality thermostat.
Controls
Regardless of the size of equipment you have you can always add an Energy Management Control System. Reducing the cost of operating your equipment is as simple as managing your temperature controls.
"HVAC is the easy part of what we do. After doing it for so long it became a part of who we are here. The challenge is to bring 100% of who we are and what we are capable of 100% of the time. My motivation is to build an All-Star team of HVAC Experts that can meet the expectations of our customers and excel in improving the customer experience far beyond what is
Indoor Air Quality
The purpose of an HRV or an ERV is to deliver fresh air to a home’s interior. Neither appliance is designed to provide makeup air for combustion appliances or kitchen exhaust fans. HRVs and ERVs are not space-heating devices, heat-delivery devices, or energy-saving devices. The more hours that an HRV or ERV operates, the more energy it uses — electrical energy to operate its fans, as well as heating or cooling energy to make up for the conditioned air that these devices expel from a home.
Read More: http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/hrv-or-erv
Pros: Fresh air into your home with minimal heating or cooling loss.
Cons: Require annual maintenance.
expected. We can study all day and night and put the nuts and bolts together. At the end of the day we want our customers to be blown away at how much we can improve their situation."
Steam Heating
Steam heating is one of the oldest heating technologies, but the process of boiling and condensing water is inherently less efficient than more modern systems, plus it typically suffers from significant lag times between the boiler turning on and the heat arriving in the radiators. As a result, steam systems make it difficult to implement control strategies such as a night setback system.
Pros: Comfortable heating
Cons: Misunderstood systems. Require heavy annual maintenance. Most expensive form of "fuel" heating.
Heating and Air Conditioning Systems
Inverter Technology
There are a few new words in our vocabulary these days. Inverter, Modulating, and Variable. The purpose of each is the same. To only use the energy that is needed to achieve the set point goal. Like an gas pedal in a car, these technologies ramp your equipment up and down based on what is needed in the moment to provide the maximum amount of comfort using the least amount of energy. Instead of turning on %100 and off completely and inverter compressor will ramp up and down to maintain maximum efficiency. A variable speed blower will ramp up and down based on how much airflow is required. A modulating furnace will only burn the amount of gas needed to heat a space. All of these options make a huge difference in your utilities and comfort.
VRV and VRF
Variable Refrigerant Volume and Variable Refrigerant Flow units are the top of technology. They were designed as replacement technology for chilled water systems for buildings. Instead of moving water, these units move refrigerant. The technology allows these units to modulate to low/high speeds as needed. The control systems for these units have an endless amount of options for you to choose from. These units can be used as a sole source of heating for a building saving the cost of back up heating.
Pros: Extremely efficient, modular, endless indoor unit options, space saving, less piping
Cons: Cost of installation, locating trained/qualified Engineers, design
ventilation
We would all love to open the windows and breathe fresh air all day. What if you could? Technology allows us to bring fresh air in and exhaust stale air without losing all of your conditioned air!
Mini-Splits
The single most misunderstood and misapplied product in our industry. The mini-split itself uses incredible technology to perform and save energy. Unfortunately they are relied on as a cure for HVAC problems instead of a solution to an individual problem.
Pros: Very efficient heating and cooling
Cons: Cannot provide adequate heating at lower outdoor air temperatures.
Wood-Pellet Heating
Today you can choose from a new generation of wood- and pellet-burning appliances that are cleaner burning, more efficient, and powerful enough to heat many average-sized, modern homes. Pellet fuel appliances burn small pellets that look like rabbit feed and measure 3/8 to 1 inch in length.
Pros: No monthly utility. Easy to install.
Cons: High maintenance. Not as cheap as most people think. Lack's ability to balance temperature in more than one room.