Ah, the Jersey Shore life. The summer feels like a party when you’re near the ocean: Families at the beach all day, barbecues and parties at night. You can go for a swim, play board games on the porch, or just relax and watch the crowds go by.

It’s all well and good until the winter comes around, and your energy bills are suddenly leaving you feeling like you're out in the cold. One Cape May homeowner and year-round resident had enough of this cycle, and called in Comfort Now by Bob McAllister to help break it.

Problem: Electric baseboard heating was costing more in the winter months than the homeowner wanted to pay.

Solution: Convert the house to a natural gas heating and cooling system and install ductless panels.

Comfort Now took several steps to drastically reduce this homeowner’s long-term heating costs. The first two involved a new Carrier Condenser and 85-percent natural gas duct cooling and heating system.

Going to gas isn’t always an obvious move. Sure, the monthly bills are less than for electric systems, and gas heats a house faster and better than electric. However, the equipment costs more than its counterparts, which causes some indecision at times. 

Comfort Now eased that upfront impact with a series of easy financing options: No interest and no payment for 6 months or 12 months, or a reduced annual percentage rate for up to seven years. Once this Cape May homeowner chose the plan that worked best for him, the work began. 

To heat this house most efficiently, Comfort Now installed at 2-stage heating Carrier Performance Series system in the crawlspace underneath the house to heat the first floor, and another in the attic to accommodate the second story.

Later, Comfort Now returned for the final step: A ductless panel in the one room of the house that wasn’t getting enough heat from the new systems.

The advantage of ductless panels is that each one works independently to heat or cool its zone. Rather than some rooms ending up hotter, and more expensive to heat, just to keep one spot up to the right temperature, ductless panels help maintain consistent temperatures with less fuel.

It was a lot of work, but Comfort Now delivered a completely new, customized, more efficient heating system without any big visual differences to the house. Even the ductless panel — the most visible addition — wasn’t a big deal, and looks beautiful in the room. Since the air comes through small, three-inch tubes, the technicians can install them discretely with just a few small holes for the tubes.

Now, this Cape May native keeps his toes in the sand all winter — and his utility bills out of the clouds come winter time.

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