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Residential HVAC Upgrades Are Easy
and Affordable
With Energy Tax Credits
by Amity Hook-Sopko on December 18, 2009
Are you taking advantage of the current federal
energy efficiency tax credits?
If you watch the news, you’ve seen Cash for Caulkers and another $5
billion in renewable energy incentives just in the last few weeks.
Chances are your neighbor or someone you know is letting the government
pay them to improve their home’s efficiency and lower their electric
bills.
Is your home a candidate for a heating and cooling energy makeover?
New High-Efficiency Systems Qualify for Tax Credits
While we look for long-term renewable solutions, these tax credits are a
smart way to lower greenhouse gas emissions AND save you money.
If you live in an older home, now is the time to upgrade your heating
and cooling system. Patrick Dodd, of Dawson-Dodd Heating in St.
Louis, MO, says, “We heat and cool older homes, anywhere from 50 to 100
years or older.” Patrick and his team are extremely knowledgeable about
what products are right for specific homes, as well as the tax credits
available.
Choosing a Knowledgeable Heating and Cooling Service Provider
An important step is selecting the right contractor. Last week, Patrick
received a call from a homeowner interested in the tax credits available
for a new furnace. They were using a space heater in a family room
addition, because the room never got warm enough. Her furnace was 14
years old, and the heat exchanger (the main component of the furnace)
was still covered by the manufacturer’s warranty.
After a conversation about where the family spends most of their time
and the temperature throughout the rest of the home, Patrick suggested
she install a ductless split heating cooling system for the addition.
The new system qualifies for a tax credit, and was significantly less
expensive than replacing the existing furnace.
Without Patrick’s questions and involvement, the homeowner may have
replaced the furnace and still have been unhappy with the temperature of
the family room.
Recently, Patrick and other members of the American Subcontractors
Association (ASA) recently helped pick up the pieces of a 13-month long
home repair nightmare for an Overland, MO woman. Dawson-Dodd donated
product and services for her heating and cooling, after she was swindled
by a fraudulent contractor.
What Makes the New Products Green?
Patrick says Dawson-Dodd is pleased to work with several green and tax
credit certified products.
The Unico System – One of the most unique, quiet and efficient
HVAC systems on the market today. The Unico system is designed for those
applications with no existing ductwork. With the Unico system, a heating
and central air conditioning system can be installed in your home or
business with no need for extensive sheet metal duct installation. This
minimizes installation time and results in less mess and disruption to
your home or business during the installation process.
Because the chiller is a close loop system, it uses about 20% less Freon
than a conventional system. The Unichiller was also used at Cornell
University to cool a solar home.
Mitsubishi Mr. Slim Ductless Heating & Cooling System –
Mitsubishi makes 15 Energy Star rated systems and 9 systems that qualify
for the federal tax credit. They are extremely efficient, with excellent
Seasonal Efficiency Energy Ratio (SEER) rankings. With a feature called
the “i-see sensor,” an electric eye scans the room looking for “hot” or
“cold” and then directs the heated or cooled air to those areas.
Mitsubishi heat pumps do not use electric heat. They use the heat that
is already in the air, even when the outside temperature is near zero.
Inverted Compressor Technology maximizes energy savings by making sure
only the energy needed to cool or heat an area is used. They also use
R-410A, an environment friendly refrigerant and a high percentage is
recyclable.
Navien Condensing Tankless Water Heater – Because this product
boasts the industry’s
highest efficiency, rating (98%) homeowners enjoy
low annual operating
costs. Navien’s Condensing 98% Tankless offers the
highest gallons-per-minute (GPM) when comparing input BTUs. We prefer
Navien because of the flexibility of installation.
Weil-McLain & Lochinvar Boilers – Known as modulating boilers,
the Weil-McLain and Lochinvar boilers produce just the minimum amount of
heat to keep the temperature even throughout the home. They are designed
to track the return water temperature that is bed back to the boiler. If
the sensors detect a slight drop in temperature, the modulating boiler
may only need to operate at 15-40% capacity to gently raise the
temperature, with no wasted energy.
Patrick and his team at Dawson-Dodd have been serving the heating and
cooling needs of homes and businesses in St. Louis for nearly 30 years.
They have earned a reputation for providing a quality product, using
only skilled technicians, and offering true value to our customers.
Patrick cites the EPA’s estimate that one out of every 10 households
using Energy Star labeled heating and cooling equipment keeps more than
17 billion pounds of pollution out of the air each year. Dawson-Dodd is
committed to doing its part toward a cleaner, greener future.
Amity Hook-Sopko
is an environmental writer for
Improve Your Home and Garden. The
website features articles
and tips from local
home improvement contractors to improve your home and garden and
help you fix up, decorate, remodel, or be more eco-friendly with
green building products.
Our Mission:
At Dawson and Dodd we believe in providing our customers with the best
value and quality service available in the St. Louis Area. We have
constant radio contact with all of our technicians to provide timely
service.
When you buy from Dawson-Dodd you buy quality and you get
service.
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