Homeowners
Plain-language cost guides for homeowners: repair versus replace, running costs by state, safety, and how to read an HVAC contractor’s quote.
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Should You Replace Your HVAC Now or Wait? What the Data Says
Equipment producer prices are up 60% since 2019 and August 2026 is the highest reading in the series. The 25C credit is gone. What waiting actually changes, and…
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How Often Should HVAC Be Serviced? What Is Established
No federal agency sets or measures a servicing interval. Which maintenance tasks have an established mechanism, which claims are marketing, and why a system needing annual refrigerant has…
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AC Repair Costs: Why No Reliable National Figure Exists
Every published repair price range is a vendor survey, not measured data: four of five cost elements are tracked by nobody. What actually determines the bill and how…
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Heat Pump vs Gas Furnace: Which Is Cheaper to Run in Your State
Cost per million Btu of heat in every state: gas beat a minimum heat pump in 32 of 41 states in 2025/26, but heat pumps win clearly where…
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How Old Is America’s HVAC Equipment? 20% of Heating Systems Are Past 20 Years
Nobody measures age at failure, so no lifespan figure exists. The age of the installed base does: 20% of US heating equipment is past 20 years, boilers 38%,…
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What Size HVAC System Do I Need? Why Square Footage Fails
Square-foot rules of thumb routinely oversize equipment because they ignore insulation, glazing, orientation and air leakage. What a real load calculation includes, and what to ask before you…
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What Is HVAC? The System, the Equipment and the Numbers
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning: what each letter covers, what a residential system contains, and the federal numbers on what US homes actually run. 109.5M of 123.5M homes…
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How Much Does a New HVAC System Cost in 2026?
No federal agency measures installed HVAC cost, so every national average you see is a vendor survey. Here is the part that is documented: equipment producer prices up…
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Heating Oil Prices: $5.54 a Gallon and What Drove the 2026 Spike
US residential heating oil finished the 2025/26 season at $5.54 a gallon. The season averaged $4.01, up 9.8%, and peaked at $5.57 after a 19.3% single-week jump in…
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The 25C Heat Pump Tax Credit Expired. What That Costs You in 2026
Up to $2,000 came off a qualifying heat pump in 2025. In 2026 it comes off nothing federally, and the date that matters is installation, not purchase.