What other home staple lasts about as long as a mortgage? An electric heater. These units average between 20 and 30 years of service, about the same amount of time it takes to pay off the home it’s in. 

It turns out an electric heater lasts about as long as a mortgage, if you’re lucky. Most average between 20 and 30 years of service. So, if you were to get one when you bought a new place, you’d have it for about as long as it takes to pay off your home.

Perhaps that’s why the owner of a condo in Somers Point decided it was time to retire the 25 year-old heat-pump system. With any home, you want to make improvements, and don’t want any nasty surprises. Moving into a new space, or renovating your old home, either is a perfect time to consider switching over to natural gas, rather than waiting until the old unit failed- it never happens at a good time! The old unit was still in working condition but was clearly nearing the end of its service life. Switching over to natural gas has many advantages and options available, so when the homeowner called Comfort Now, we knew we could design the perfect system for this home, while also upgrading the home to natural gas!

Problem: A homeowner wanted to replace a 25-year-old York heating system and convert to natural gas.

Solution: Install an Energy-star approved Carrier 96% AFUE natural gas furnace with a Payne condenser to increase the efficiency of the entire system and lower energy bills.

The homeowner was considering switching to natural gas, but wasn’t sure if it was the right move. Since the decision would affect his summer renters and year-round tenants, it was especially important to choose the right system. After learning more about the property and the homeowner’s needs, the Comfort Now Specialist went through the pros and cons of each system.

Our homeowner knew that converting to natural gas would be a good choice and would be more energy efficient, but converting a house requires running gas lines from the closet hookup, and installing a gas meter, just for starters. In addition, this home needed to have old, deteriorating ductwork replaced along with old venting. An electric heater like the one in this Somers Point condo complex has some advantages over switching to natural gas. For starters, staying with electric would mean a smaller up-front cost and a longer shelf life. That’s because gas heaters typically are more expensive than electric ones and usually need to be replaced in 10 or 20 years. An electric unit also requires less maintenance. Since gas furnaces produce very small levels of carbon monoxide, they must be cleaned regularly and thoroughly by a professional.

However, there are plenty of advantages to a gas heating system, and especially a few that are beneficial especially for a complex. While the gas furnace may cost more initially, the price of gas has gone down considerably over the years. This makes it cheaper than electric heat — an important cost-saving consideration.

Next, gas is more efficient. It warms an area faster than electric heat, and can even hit higher temperatures in colder weather. That’s especially important considering the condo complex’s location. The potential for empty apartments in the offseason means a system will have to work harder to heat the places that need it when not all the units are using it — and when they just don’t have warm bodies in them.

And, let’s not forget how cold some winters have gotten recently. It seems like for every mild winter, we get two more where it’s freezing almost constantly, and the temperatures stay snugly below zero for longer and longer stretches. Add in the fact that this complex is near the beach, and now you’re also dealing with winds blowing off the ocean and generally lower temperatures than locations even just five or 10 miles away.

Ultimately, those reasons convinced the homeowner to go with gas. But, Comfort Now wasn’t done yet! By setting up the condo with a new, energy-efficient Payne air conditioning and gas heating system, Carrier also directed the owner to South Jersey Gas for financial incentives. The utility company offers no-interest conversion loans for customers like these. The condo got its new unit installed quickly without a large up-front payment. Now, the owner is paying just $133 a month without paying more than the sticker price.

If that low cost wasn’t enough, when you factor in the energy savings, the property owner is actually paying less right now for his gas furnace energy bills and payment plan combined than he was previously with electric heat.

Better heating for less money? What a gas!