Did you know that you can sell your home for more or just increase its value while you’re living in it by upgrading your heating system? New England winters can be brutal, especially with climate change ramping up.
Below are several simple but effective upgrades will keep you warmer while you’re at home and make your house worth more over time, and how to get in touch with an experienced HVAC technician who can help you get the home heating you need.
Install a Programmable Thermostat
Whether you have a ducted or ductless heating system, a programmable thermostat can add instant value to your home. It allows you to be in complete control over your home’s temperature, and if you have a ductless unit, you can be in control of each zone in your home separately.
Programmable thermostats can be operated from most smartphones, even while you’re away from home, and can be set to reach specific temperatures at predetermined times to keep you comfortable all day and night long. Programmable thermostats also help save energy, which cuts your heating costs in the winter and makes your house a better seller on the market.
Add a Ductless Unit
A ductless heating system, also called a heat pump or mini split, is a type of clean heating that uses the least amount of energy and takes up the least amount of space in your home. It’s quiet, efficient, and can be combined with other heating methods to keep your house as comfortable as possible no matter how cold it gets outside.
A ductless heat pump is also going to increase the overall resale value of your home, often by quite a bit. This is an attractive feature, especially to energy savings-conscious home buyers. If your home is completely zoned and each room or general area has its own heat pump and temperature controls, your home can bring in a lot more money on the housing market than if you didn’t have ductless heating at all.
If you can, upgrade your heating and energy source at the same time, switching from traditional electric to solar energy. Sustainable houses sell for significantly more, and ductless combined with solar makes your home extremely competitive on the market. Swapping to solar also saves you more money while you’re still living in the home. Talk to your HVAC professional about combining a heat pump with solar power.
Take Out Your Wood Stove
Poor air quality in your home can have a significant impact on your health and the health of others who live with and visit you. If you have a wood stove, you can be confident that when you’re heating your home, you’re filling your air with harmful pollutants like carbon monoxide, soot, ash, and wood particulate.
Wood stoves are also more expensive to run than a ductless heat pump and require you to tend the stove and buy or collect firewood to burn to keep your house warm. You can also increase the value of your home by leaving your wood stove as decoration or leaving it functional but adding a new heating source so the wood stove only needs to be used on the coldest of days.
Have Your Ducts Cleaned
If you have a central heating system, your ducts are likely where most of the dust, dirt, and other contaminants that get pumped into your household air are living.
While having your ducts cleaned may not be a home value upgrade that you can easily show off to potential homebuyers, it is one that has tremendous value, particularly to the right buyers. A home that has had its ducts cleaned recently will usually sell for a little more than it would otherwise, although it’s important to note this may not be a staggering amount of money.
Replace Your Windows
While this isn’t necessarily an upgrade to your heating system specifically, it can do wonders to help cut winter heating costs and make your space more comfortable. Drafty windows, especially in Boston’s older homes, can let cold air into your space.
This creates uncomfortable spots that are cooler than other areas and makes your heating system work harder to maintain the same temperature. Window replacement can make a significant difference in how much you pay for heating, and it also increases the resale value of your home exponentially.
Call N.E.T.R., Inc. Today to Learn More About Essential Heating Upgrades for Your Boston Home
At N.E.T.R., Inc., we want you to have the best comfort at an affordable rate. While we’re at it, we’d love to help you increase the overall value of your home whether you’re living in it for several more years or planning to sell it soon.
Contact our office today to learn more about ductless heating and other heating system upgrades or to schedule a time for one of our Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Elite Contractors to come to your home for a quote. We’re dedicated to providing superb service and the highest quality materials for heating, cooling, residential, and commercial HVAC needs.
