How to Choose the Right HVAC System for Your Calgary Home
How to Choose the Right HVAC System for Your Calgary Home Table of Contents The numbers are striking – over 92% of households in some Canadian cities have air conditioners. Forced air furnaces heat more than half (51%) of homes nationwide. Selecting the right HVAC system for your Calgary home is significant. A well-maintained heating and cooling system typically lasts 12 to 20 years. This makes your choice a most important long-term investment. Your home’s size matters greatly – smaller homes up to 1,500 square feet need around 18,000 to 24,000 BTUs. Larger properties naturally require more powerful solutions. Calgary homeowners face an even bigger challenge with soaring energy costs. Electricity rates shot up from 17.341¢/kWh to 31.858¢/kWh – an 83.7% increase in just one year! Your choice of an efficient system matters more than ever. HVAC systems with higher SEER ratings (14 or above) can maintain air quality and temperature while using less energy. This piece will help you choose the perfect HVAC system for your Calgary home. You’ll learn to balance comfort, efficiency, and cost effectively for years ahead. Understanding HVAC Systems and Calgary’s Climate Calgary’s climate creates special challenges for homeowners like you. Your HVAC system must work in temperatures that swing from below -30°C in winter to above 30°C in summer. Calgary’s harsh winters just need strong heating solutions. Natural gas furnaces are still the top pick for Calgary’s homes. They work best in extreme cold. The latest models give you AFUE ratings up to 98%, which means they turn almost all fuel into heat. Summer brings its own set of cooling challenges. Heat waves have gotten more intense over the last several years. Air conditioning has become a must-have for most Calgary residents. Your utility bills make energy efficiency crucial. Systems with variable speed motors can match their output to what you really need. This saves energy when the weather’s mild. Getting the right size system matters a lot. A small system won’t keep up in extreme weather. A system that’s too big will turn on and off too much. This wastes energy and makes your home less comfortable. Next Air Heating and Cooling (403) 991-772 will give a full picture of what your home needs. Air quality is another big concern in our city. Winter’s sealed-up homes can trap pollutants inside. That’s why ventilation systems and air purifiers are a great way to get better air quality in your HVAC setup. These climate factors are the foundations of picking the right HVAC system for your Calgary home. Key Factors to Consider Before Choosing a System The right HVAC system choice depends on several key factors, not just the price tag. Your home’s insulation quality should come first – poor insulation makes systems work harder. This leads to higher energy bills and faster equipment wear. Poor insulation can waste up to 35% of your home’s heat. Your home’s ductwork plays a vital role in system performance. Air leaks in ducts waste conditioned air and raise costs. Well-sealed and insulated ducts help maintain steady temperatures throughout your home while saving energy. These efficiency ratings make a big difference: AFUE (furnaces): Modern units range from 80% to 98% efficiency SEER (cooling): Look for at least 14 for Calgary homes HSPF (heat pumps): New units require minimum ratings of 7.5 System size matters a lot – oversized units cycle too often while undersized ones don’t keep up with comfort needs. Square footage, insulation quality, window types, and ceiling height determine the right size. Long-term costs need attention too – HVAC usually takes up about 29% of your utility bill. Need help determining the right HVAC system for your Calgary home? Contact Next Air Heating and Cooling today at (403) 991-772 for a professional consultation. Types of Residential HVAC Systems Explained Knowing which HVAC system works best can help you choose the right one for your Calgary home. Split Systems lead the market as the top choice, with indoor and outdoor units linked by refrigerant lines. The outdoor unit contains the compressor and condenser. The indoor unit houses the evaporator coil and air handler. These systems distribute heating and cooling through your home’s existing ductwork. Packaged Systems integrate all components into one outdoor unit. Homes with limited indoor mechanical space benefit from these compact solutions. Ductless Mini-Split Systems connect wall-mounted indoor units to an outdoor compressor through small pipes. Their impressive energy efficiency ratings reach up to 28.1 SEER2. Each zone’s temperature can be controlled independently. Heat Pumps achieve 75% more efficiency than electric resistance heating by transferring heat instead of generating it. These systems come in air-source and geothermal options to provide year-round comfort. Hybrid Systems pair a heat pump with a gas furnace. The system switches between energy sources based on outdoor temperatures to maximize efficiency. Need help choosing the right HVAC system? Next Air Heating and Cooling’s experts can provide customized recommendations for your home. Call us at (403) 991-772. Conclusion Your Calgary home needs the right HVAC system, and several factors play a crucial role in making this choice. The size of your home, how well it’s insulated, and your current ductwork will shape which system works best through our extreme weather changes. Your comfort and running costs depend on efficiency ratings like SEER, AFUE, and HSPF. Most Calgary homes with existing ductwork do well with split systems. Homes without ducts or those needing extra zones benefit from ductless mini-splits. Heat pumps and hybrid systems are great energy-efficient options to think about, especially since Calgary’s electricity rates jumped by 83.7% in the last year. Getting the right size system stands out as the most crucial decision factor. Small systems won’t handle extreme weather well. Large ones waste energy by turning on and off too often. A professional evaluation will give you exactly what your home needs. Ready for a new HVAC system? Our Calgary HVAC experts are here to help. Visit our product pages or reach out to us today. The HVAC system you