Archive for the ‘Heating & Cooling’ Category

Recently we had a customer contact us, expressing their satisfaction for a job well done. Homeworks would like to share this story with you to help give some insight as to what you can expect in your next Homeworks experience.

Garry and Angela Lester were looking for someone who could look after their heating/cooling requirements in the new home they were building and realized that Homeworks’ house-as-a-system approach was a perfect fit. They decided to go with our organization after meeting with our knowledgeable and personable sales staff. In addition, Homeworks “is better quality of service for the price I was paying comparing to other companies” says Garry.

Chris Breadner was the Sales Consultant that guided Garry through his new build installation experience. Chris gave expert ideas as to how all of the products the Lester’s were interested in could best interact and function in their new home. The Lester’s purchased a Bryant 95s multi-stage variable speed 95% efficient furnace to provide back up heat for the Bryant two stage heat pump. Garry and Angela Lester went with ISO board foundation walls that gave them an R-50 rating in the basement walls. This combined with the R-20 in the upper floor walls and R-50 in the attic meant the heat loss/gain was very low. Given these properties, Chris recommended an Eneready HRV system that was much smaller than most equipment for a house this size for continuous ventilation and high efficiency heat filter.

Bryant Two-Stage Heat Pump

HRV in Crawl Space

HVAC System

HRV Ventilation Ducts

Attic Insulation (R-50 Rating)

All in all, this was a successful experience for the Lester’s and even though there were some unexpected issues the Lester’s experienced as there is with any job; Chris’s “level of knowledge reassured me and I was not worried” says Garry Lester.

Garry exclaimed that “Chris’ level of knowledge was superior to most people I have come across and he did an excellent job of coordinating the whole process. He had an understanding of how things fit together and his product knowledge was superb. Chris Breadner truly understood the house as a system approach. He would answer my many phone calls and questions and was extremely good about dealing with other people working on our new build home. The staff at Homeworks are excellent and truly provide a consultative approach. It is definitely an advantage to have a company that deals with all aspects of a home when it comes to planning and implementation.”

We are happy that the Lester’s had such a positive experience with Homeworks and the next time you are looking to complete home upgrades or build a new home you will have an idea of the level of service you can expect from the Homeworks team!

If you are interested in Homeworks house-as-a-system approach, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.

With “Going Green” being the latest trend in home improvement, many people want to take part but often do not know where to start. Having an ecoEnergy audit preformed on your house can be a great first step and help provide a clear step-by-step plan to upgrading your home in an energy-efficient manner.

An ecoEnergy audit is preformed by an outside organization’s certified energy adviser and the assessment will evaluate the energy efficiency of your home. The focus of the initial audit will be on windows, doors, the heating system and insulation and typically takes around two hours and costs around $150 per visit. A “blower door” test is completed in order to determine if there are any air leaks, a major contributor to heat loss.

Once the assessment is finished the certified energy adviser will present you with a report which will provide you with an analysis of the amount of energy you are using, where and will provide solutions to better allocate your “energy dollars” to improve the energy efficiency of your home. Accompanying the report will also be a rating of you home of how it compares to others with respect to energy efficiency.

By implementing the recommended upgrades it will allow you to reduce cold drafts of your home, identify moisture problems, improve your home’s ventilation, reduce overall energy use and save money on your energy bills.

These audits are done by organizations that are unaffiliated with Homeworks therefore, will give you a completely objective measure of your home. After, you have completed your upgrades you call the certified energy advisers back to assess the improvement of energy efficiency in your home. Having these tests done will typically qualify you for ecoEnergy federal grants and other incentives.

If you are interested in improving the energy efficiency of your home, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.

We see this ENERGY STAR label everywhere, but does anyone really know the meaning behind it? And the question begs, how does it help us as consumers?

So lets figure out what it means together; it is defined as the international symbol that differentiates products with premium energy efficiency compared to others in its category. Products that show the ENERGY STAR symbol have been examined with respect to prearranged regulations and have met or surpassed higher energy efficiency levels without compromising functionality. The products included by ENERGY STAR range from office equipment to windows and doors.

The ENERGY STAR symbol was first introduced in the US and was initially used for computers and monitors and currently can be located on almost 40 product types including residential heating and cooling equipment. ENERGY STAR has grown to be recognized internationally including countries from Europe to Taiwan and many in between including Canada.

So now that you know a little bit about it, you might be wandering how do different products qualify for this label? Well don’t worry you don’t have to go far, its going to all be explained right here! Products must meet technical specifications designed to ensure that they are among the top energy performers on the market. The general guidelines of how products are selected are:

* There must be significant energy savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions that can be realized throughout the country
* Product performance must be maintained or enhanced with energy efficiency
* Many energy efficiency models are also high quality with a wide range of desired features and they must ensure overall performance is maintained
* You must recover your investment in a reasonable period of time with the purchase of a product
* Specifications are set so that energy efficiency criteria can be met through the use of several technology options and can not favour one manufacturer
* Labeling would substantially differentiate energy efficient products from others
* Energy consumption of a product is able to be measured

So now that your are armed with the information, the next time you are shopping for a product and see the ENERGY STAR symbol you will have a better idea of what you would be purchasing. The majority of products sold at Homeworks are ENERGY STAR rated including all of our heat pumps, furnaces, windows and doors.

For more information and where to find qualified products visit the Natural Resources Canada’s Office of Energy Efficiency. Or visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700 and we can help guide and inform you throughout your purchase decisions.

Heat Pumps are appliances that when paired with a gas/electric furnace will heat, cool and dehumidify and continuously filter the air of dust and impurities. It can also circulate the air to avoid stuffiness without heating or cooling the air. In summer, heat pumps will transfer heat from inside the house to outside air for cooling; conversely, in winter they will transfer heat from outside air into the home for heating. The life of a heat pump depends on what kind you choose to invest in. The two types are; air source heat pumps which will typically last 15-25 years and ground source heat pumps which will last about 20-30 years.

The efficiency of a heat pump tends to be approximately 200 to 400% because of its solar energy use; much greater than any electrical or gas system. Heat pump heating is roughly a third of the cost of electric heating and about half the cost of gas heating. They are also fairly simple to maintain as professional service and inspection can be done as little as once a year and filters should be changed every once or twice a year depending on your environment.

Some of the advantages of heat pumps are:

• They will reduce your energy bills as they are more economical to run than electric or gas heating systems
• They provide functionality throughout the year, rather than exclusively in the winter
• In BC, they use renewable hydropower green energy, heat pumps use environmentally sound refrigerant and do not harm the ozone layer
• They are usually quieter then their counterpart heating systems

Some of the disadvantages of heat pumps are:

• If you live in an area that is frequently below freezing in winter, the back up system will be required
• The initial price of a heat pump can be a deterrent when purchasing a heating unit, but the savings on energy bills will eventually offset this

All things considered, heat pumps offer the best investment in home heating and comfort. Homeworks offers two brands of heat pumps, known as Bryant and Payne. If you are interested in installing a heat pump, book a free in-home consultation, visit our showrooms or call 604.697.5700.

As the summer turns to fall and winter, what better way to launch our Homeworks blog than with a discussion around heating equipment.

According to Natural Resources Canada, homes account for 20% of all the energy used in Canada. Of this, this about 67% is used for space heating and cooling.

Given this information and the fact we continue to encounter rising energy costs, one of the most frequent questions our heating technicians receive is: “When is it time to replace my furnace?”

Unfortunately, there is no easy “one size fits all” answer to this question. One of the most direct points to consider regarding your furnace is simply its age. Do you have a heating system that is 10 or more years old? If so, even if it runs dependably, you still might consider replacing the equipment with a new energy-efficient furnace.

Why you ask? Well, the physical life of a furnace, similar to personal computers can be longer than its economic life. If your heating system has been well maintained, the furnace may last 20 years or more, but issues of economics, environment, comfort and health still apply. With that being said, when weighing the costs and benefits of repairing or replacing an older furnace with a high efficiency furnace, please keep the following points in mind.

Reasons why you might repair rather than replace an aging heating system?

* Cash or affordable financing for the new heating system is not available.
* You are planning to move from the home relatively soon.
* Your home’s “envelope” is inefficient (I.e. poorly insulated, drafty, etc.). In this case, it makes to address your building envelope before or during your heating system upgrade.

Reasons why you might replace rather than repair an aging heating system?

* A new furnace is more energy-efficient. A typical older furnace runs at 60% efficiency whereas the latest technology is 90 – 97%. Diverting your monthly spending from higher energy and repair costs to new equipment helps save fossil fuels and reduce CO2 emissions.
* There are lots of grants and incentives available for those making energy efficient upgrades.
* A high-efficiency furnace will run much quieter than your older model..

In closing, there are many variables in any particular home that determine whether its time to repair or replace your heating system. Always remember, it’s important to consult with a professional heating contractor who will review all the options available to you.