3-Step Money-Saving Hack For Home Repair

All our HVAC technicians bring a deep skillset of hands-on factory training and high-level hacks to the job that don’t always translate into a 5-minute video. Scheduled maintenance and repairs by factory-authorized technicians are hands-down the best ways to get the optimal performance and energy efficiency out of your heating and cooling system.

As a budget-conscience homeowner, you also don’t want to spend frivolously on home heating and cooling equipment.

The 3-step money-saving hack for home repair works to save money on heating and air conditioning installation and maintenance, and any other home-related expense.

To illustrate how the 3-step money-saving hack works, the following model applies the methodology to the question: Should I upgrade my gas furnace?

Even if the furnace came with the house, it may not be properly sized. Also, there may be other utilities available now that weren’t when the house was built.

Always examine your current situation. You can hire a fully licensed HVAC contractor to inspect your existing furnace and then offer suggestions for improving energy efficiency and performance.

Massachusetts residents can get a valuable, free home-energy audit from Mass Save®. In addition to assessing your existing furnace, the energy auditor will look at how your entire house uses energy and make suggestions for improvements.

While you assess your current situation, look at your future goals. This is an important part of the hack. For instance, assuming your furnace is the correct size, why were you thinking of upgrading? Was the goal to heat a future three-season room or accessory dwelling? Is your bedroom cold at night?

Make sure to thoroughly define your goal. For this model, the goal will be to heat the future home office in the basement.

You’re going to spend money, whether you do it yourself or hire a pro, and it’s not always easy to tell which way is going to be a better value.

Always hire a fully bonded and insured HVAC contractor with a long-standing reputation in the community to install a new energy-efficient gas furnace.

But when applying this hack to more general home repairs, consider this: You don’t need to hire an electrician to change a lightbulb. However, if you try to change an outlet to save money and start a fire, clearly hiring the electrician would’ve been the less expensive option.

In the case of our model example, heating the future home office in the basement, most likely the two choices would be to extend ductwork from the existing heating system (and possibly need to upgrade to a larger furnace) or install a ductless mini-split.

Research all the rebates, incentives, and financing you can from Mass Save® and manufacturers to get the best prices on both options and compare.

If an HVAC technician determines your current furnace could heat a basement office, it may be more affordable to simply install new duct work.

Or, you may consider installing a ductless mini-split with air handlers in the basement and (your cold) bedroom. You can run them both off the same heat pump. In this case, the overall investment may be more than just heating the basement, but you’d be solving two problems!

Conclusion:

When faced with any home repair challenge, assess the problem and your needs, invest in finding the best solution at an affordable price, and maintain your investment to maximize its value.