HVAC Services

HVAC Services

Conventional Heating & Air

Trust the Experts at Airflow for the Most Efficient HVAC System

Airflow Systems offers the same products as other HVAC companies. So how are we different? Airflow Systems is a family-owned, women-owned business with roots in the Charlottesville and Central Virginia region that dates back over 30 years. Our customers trust us to keep their families comfortable, with heating and cooling systems that meet their needs and their budgets. We never try to sell you a new system if your current system still has years of life left and is working properly. We only do what is right for our customers…and when something isn’t right, we fix it right. We will never try to sell you a new system if your current system still has years of life left. We will help you look for a more efficient system that can keep your energy costs down and last longer because it is doing less work. While more expensive in their initial cost, an energy efficient HVAC system will more than pay for itself in the long run. Here are a few tips about choosing the best, most energy efficient HVAC system:

• Look at the efficiency ratings.Air conditioners have a specific rating, called SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio); it should be 16 or higher. For gas furnaces, the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) should be 94% or higher. For heat pumps, the Heating Seasonal Performance Factor (HSPF) should be 9.2 or higher.
• Energy-saving features. These include variable speed blowers and fan-only switches in air conditioners. You may also run across a system that has a programmable thermostat for controlling the temperature even when you aren’t home. Such features are usually found on products that are already high-efficiency.
• Choose the right size system for your space. A small unit that struggles to condition a too-large space could have a significantly shorter life, and a system that is too big will cost much more to operate than you need to pay. The only sure way to know what size system your home or office requires is to talk with a professional heating and air company you can trust—Airflow.
• If your HVAC system is older than 10 years old – and definitely if it is over 15 years old – it’s time to start looking into a more energy efficient replacement. Don’t wait until your HVAC system goes out completely to start looking for a new one, that only results in haste making waste. Take the time to consider your options while you still have the time to have options.

What are the advantages of a heat pump vs. gas furnace system? A heat pump is an all-in-one heating and air conditioning system that works year-round to keep you comfortable. There are a number of advantages.

• A heat pump works as a normal air conditioner, whether hearing or cooling. It extracts heat from inside the home and transfers it outside. In colder weather, the process reverses—the unit collects heat from the outdoor air and transfers it inside your home.
• There’s heat in outside cold air, but sometimes not enough. Not a problem.The heat pump pulls the heat from cold outdoor air and sends it inside to warm your home. But if there’s not enough heat in the outside air to meet the demand of the thermostat setting, an electric heater supplements the outdoor air to warm the home. Extremely efficient, this process produces two to three times more heat than the energy it uses.
• A heat pump can be an effective add-on option to use in conjunction with an existing gas furnace.With this dual-fuel option, the two systems share the heating load, but never function at the same time. Each system operates when it is most cost effective. The heat pump will be the primary heating and cooling system. However, when the temperature drops below the heat pump’s ability to operate as efficiently as the gas furnace, the gas furnace takes over until the temperature rises enough for the heat pump to operate more efficiently.

A high efficiency furnace can also help reduce your energy costs as well as conserve natural resources.

• Look for a high AFUE rating. The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) represents how efficiently a furnace converts fuel to energy. The higher the AFUE percentage, the more energy-efficient or fuel-efficient the furnace is. The U.S. government’s established minimum AFUE rating for a furnace is 78 percent.
• Look for Energy Star products.This means the product meets the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) standards for using less energy, which reduces pollution. Energy Star products reduce energy use by 20 to 40%.