Serving the Truckee/North Tahoe Area 530-562-9090
Installations
There are so many options when it comes to replacing your existing heating/system, I've opted to try to list a few here and give an explanation.
Take a look at your existing system to get an idea of its potential and limitations.
Gas Furnaces
Our specialty, here in Truckee.
Most homes in town and at the lake have a forced-air natural gas furnace, and the simplest replacement for that is another gas furnace.
Efficiency:
80% efficient models are the lowest and utilize a metal exhaust system, various staging options exist to make them more comfortable, but the actual gas efficiency can not be higher than 80% without a new exhaust vent system.
90% + efficient models start at 93% efficiency and go up to 99% and require a PVC exhaust vent system as well as a condensation drain system. Various staging options increase both comfort and efficiency.
Staging:
Most commonly you'll have a 1-stage or "fixed capacity" furnace, that only runs at 100% of its capacity. Only slightly more expensive (these days) are 2-stage options that can reduce capacity to 60% when the load is smaller, making them operate more quietly and allowing them to mix the air in the house better, balancing the temperature differentials around the home. At the high end, we have modulating systems that vary capacity according to load, anywhere from 33% to 100% capacity, making them the quietest and most efficient models available.
Add-ons
Indoor Air Quality
Your system's air filter is there to protect the furnace from debris that will clog it up, but not necessarily to clean your air. Putting a very aggressive filter on a system will limit its ability to move air just as much as a dirty filter, so we have to come up with a better way to clean indoor air.
We can install a variety of air cleaners on your system. At a minimal cost during installation, we can add a filter rack at the furnace, which moves the filter from wherever the return grille is inside to the furnace location. This greatly reduces the noise from the indoor grille and certain racks can hold larger filters that can be more aggressive and last much longer than a standard filter.
Also during installation, we can upgrade from a filter rack to an air purifier, capable of filtering out smoke, pollen, odors, even bacteria, mold, and viruses.
Post-installation, or during, depending on your choices, We can install an "Ionic air cleaner". These release ions into the air that attach to other particles, neutralizing them and making them larger and easier to filter. The I-Wave air cleaners are an example of this technology. This does not replace your filter, but it makes it more effective.
Humidifiers
There are two types we typically install: Evaporative and steam.
The evaporative humidifiers use a water panel in the airstream to add moisture to the air. These are most effective in winter, relying on the heat of the gas furnace for evaporation. In summer, they are not very effective. Most are programmed to run with the heater. Evaporative humidifiers may not always achieve the target humidity levels, but the cost of installation, maintenance, and operation are significantly less than the steam alternatives.
Steam humidifiers require at least 120V power, and use it to vaporize moisture into the airstream. This makes them effective in any season and means they should be able to achieve target humidity levels. The price comparison is typically 3x more than the basic evaporative.
AC-Ready
During the installation of a furnace, if there's enough physical space at the furnace, we can install the indoor coil of an AC system, preparing it for the future installation of air conditioning or even a heat pump condenser.
AC and heat pumps
AC is becoming much more popular up here than it was 10 years ago or especially 30 years ago. Most buildings in town do not have AC. AC systems consist of 2 components: the indoor Evaporator and the outdoor Condenser. Since most buildings don't have AC, it can be expensive to add, usually double or more the cost of a gas furnace installation and should be done at the time of furnace replacement or planned for during the installation (see AC Ready above).
Heat Pumps, explained:
This is mostly applicable to ducted systems, mini-splits will be discussed further down.
A heat pump is essentially an AC condenser that can run in reverse, transferring the heat from outside to inside, even at extremely low outdoor temperatures. In good outdoor conditions they are 3 to 5 times more efficient than a gas furnace. The trouble is, they lose efficiency as they drop below freezing (as they need to thaw out more often), and eventually start losing capacity at lower temperatures. Up here, we need to have a backup heat source, which can be electrical resistance coils installed in the air handler (an electric furnace), or it can be a gas furnace. This is not just because they lose capacity at low temperatures, but because our heating load is rising as the outdoor temperature drops, and even the full output of a heat pump alone is not enough for some larger homes. When installed with a gas furnace, we call it dual-fuel, see below.
AC Installation
We install a gas furnace of your choice with an evaporator coil at the existing furnace location. Outside, we find a good spot, protected from the snow, to install the outdoor condenser. The AC condenser can be shut down and covered in winter, but will still be crushed by snow falling off of a roof, so it has to be somewhere that the roof doesn't shed. We connect the indoor to the outdoor with a copper line-set and communication wiring. An electrician is usually required to run a new 240V circuit to the condenser location.
AC condensers are rated in SEER2, ranging from 14.3SEER2 upwards, the higher the number, the less electricity it takes to cool the home. Similar to furnaces, they have stages from 1-stage, 2-stage, 3-stage and modulating. The staging is very closely correlated to efficiency ratings, with variable capacity units being the most efficient and expensive.
Heat Pump, Dual Fuel
Just like the AC installation above, but we swap the AC condenser out for a heat-pump condenser. Heat pump condensers are not that much more expensive than regular AC condensers, so this option is becoming far more popular. The rest of the installation is the same, excluding that the outdoor unit cannot be covered in winter, so it needs to be protected from snow year-round. This is best done under a high deck. Clearance requirements above the unit are usually around 3', so you'll want a deck at least 7' tall underneath to fit a unit, or you'll want to build a roof over it.
Dual Fuel operation can get complicated, with the technology getting better, but home-owner involvement is peak with this one. The system will switch from the Heat Pump to the Gas Furnace at a preset outdoor temperature, to keep up with load. You will typically want to control whether or not you're using the furnace, the heat pump, or the cooling, or just a fan. If you like to be involved, this is a great system, but if you're more of a set-and-forget, we're not quite there with the technology.
Heat Pump, Electric
Veering away from the gas furnace, this uses an air handler in place of the furnace, loaded with electric resistance heaters that kick on in stages to supplement the heat pump at lower temperatures. This system is easy to operate, but the installation is involved. The electrical requirements are very high, especially at the indoor unit, requiring an electrician to add a separate 60Amp 240V or maybe even 2 60Amp circuits at the furnace location. In many applications, this may require a new panel for your house. This kind of system is usually less expensive than the dual-fuel, excluding the cost of the electrician (I don't know it).
Although all-electric is more efficient than a gas system, electricity is 3x or so more expensive than gas per BTU of heat, so there are no current operational cost savings. The CA government is pushing hard in this direction for efficiency and offers good rebates for installation, but I need to emphasize that this is not a cost-saving installation compared to a high-efficiency natural gas furnace, especially if you're not that interested in the AC part of it and are just looking for a replacement heater.
Mini-splits
Mini-split heat pumps. If I get around to it, I'll add some images for reference.
As described above, a heat pump can transfer the heat from outside to inside and vice versa, making it an air conditioner and a heater. A mini-split is mostly defined by the indoor component, which is usually mounted high on a wall in 1 room and only handles that room. Perfect for that one room in the house that is always too hot or too cold. The comfort levels are outstanding; they're nearly silent and can adjust airflow direction to target the spots in a room that need more conditioning. They are significantly more efficient than the above-mentioned, ducted systems, and retain their capacity to extremely low temperatures, reducing the need for any backup heating.
Downsides;
Many people do not like the look or idea of the unit mounted on the wall. There are many options, but it's too application-specific for this.
They're not too expensive to put in 1 room, but when you try to do your whole house, it can get costly, quickly, nearly doubling in cost with every room. Double is an exaggeration, but not an extreme one.
I highly recommend a mini-split system for 1 or two rooms in your house that your existing system just isn't enough for, but I steer away from them as whole-house solutions. However, if you want to have the most efficient heating and cooling system, with independent control of every room in the house, and don't mind the wall decor, this is it.