You’ll want to take some time to do careful research prior to purchasing HVAC equipment for your eastern North Carolina home. However, a quick way to compare cooling or heating equipment is with the yellow EnergyGuide label, which is displayed on items such as boilers, water heaters, furnaces, air conditioners, heat pumps and other large household appliances. Read on to discover what these labels are trying to tell you:
- Unit description. The upper left hand corner of the EnergyGuide label contains a description of the type of appliance as well as its key features.
- Make and model. Opposite the unit description is the manufacturer’s name and the model, as well as the size or capacity of the unit.
- Annual operating cost estimate. This dollar figure is what you might expect to pay on a yearly basis to operate the appliance. Based on the national average energy cost, it’s only to be used as a guide in comparison to similar units. Note that there may be minor variations in labeling for a number of items; for example, furnaces will not list an operating cost.
- Cost range. This area provides you a visual guide to the range of costs associated with similar models with similar features.
- Electricity usage estimate. Represented in kWh, this number is based on typical usage. For a more accurate cost estimate, this number may be multiplied by the current cost of energy in your area.
- Energy Star endorsement. Reserved for those products that fall within Energy Star guidelines for superior energy efficiency, this logo may appear in the bottom corner of the label.
For more information regarding the EnergyGuide label, call the experts at Jackson & Sons. Since 1974, we have looked after the home comfort concerns of eastern North Carolina homeowners.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Eastern North Carolina (including Wayne, Johnston, Greene, Lenoir, and Duplin Counties) about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about EnergyGuide label and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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