Mar 4, 2025
Fail-Safe Plans: A Wise Approach to HVAC Equipment Replacement
I recently listened to a biography of Benjamin Franklin. He was such an impressive individual — full of wisdom, ingenuity, patriotism and a certain spunkiness that has left a lasting impression on our nation. I hadn’t realized until listening to the biography that, due to his early experiments with and study of electricity, we have a host of electrical terms coined by him such as battery, positive, negative and many more.
I appreciate his way with words. In addition to his early contributions to the lexicon of electricity, there are many wise quips and phrases that come from his writings. One that came to mind in a recent energy audit is “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.” I wish I could say that this phrase is rarely applicable, but I often see folks who “fail” when it comes to their energy usage due to a lack of planning and preparation.
One of the most painful instances of this happening is when people have recently had HVAC equipment replaced and are still seeing high bills. In some cases, people replace a more than 15-year-old system with a modern one and see HIGHER bills!
What often happens is that during the hottest or coldest weather of the season, people will, due to lack of planning and preparation, experience a true emergency. Their old HVAC system will go out on them, plunging their home into uncomfortable or even dangerous temperatures. They will call around and get the first available person out to come and replace the unit, often in a huge rush during the contractor’s busy season.
What I’ve seen time and again with these scenarios is that, due to the situation being a crisis, homeowners are left with little time to seek out a solid contractor and pick out the right unit for their homes. The higher bills can be due to poor workmanship or oversized units or — in some very disappointing cases — a contractor taking out an old, but fairly efficient heat pump system and replacing it with strip heat, which usually leads to higher winter bills than before!
For this reason, I always advise homeowners replace a unit that is 14+ years old before it goes out. This offers the homeowner several benefits:
- More time to study and pick a good, efficient unit such as an 18+ SEER heat pump that is sized appropriately for the home.
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Avoidance of discomfort and emergencies.
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Electric bill savings and increased comfort.
Don’t let your failure to plan be the reason you have an emergency and a negative experience when replacing your HVAC unit!
Mitch Ross is the energy efficiency manager for the Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas.