The big question to all of us that live in South Alabama is what will be the Winter coming this 2024- 2025 cycle. If you recall last winter was not bad but we had a few days in the teens that drove up our utility bills.

Right now the Farmers Almanac is forecasting a mild Wet Winter here in our area. But as we know that could change as weather is so unpredictable.

Getting back to energy costs in the Winter, I am not sure you are aware that our energy consumption cost is actually higher in a cold Winter than in the blistering hot Summers we have here.

A big question is what will be your energy cost with the HVAC system you have in your home. There are 3 types of heating systems that you may have in your home and each one greatly affects your energy cost. Let’s look at each one now based on a cold winter as we had several days last year.

• A Gas Furnace- If your home is heated with a gas furnace you have the most energy efficient method of heating your home in a cold winter. Gas is less expensive than electricity and a gas furnace will hit your home quickly therefore taking less energy to make your home comfortable.
• A Heat Pump system- In a cold winter a heat pump system takes more energy to hopefully heat your home sufficiently. You will not feel the warmth you expected with a heat pump system if it really gets cold this winter. However, if we have a mild winter, a heat pump system is 3 times more effective than gas.
• A Heat Strip system- This is by far the most energy expensive way to heat your home in the winter. You will receive the warmth you expected but your energy bills will be through the roof. It takes quite a bit of energy to supply the heat strips with what they need to heat your home.

When looking to replace your existing HVAC system, a system with heat strips is the cheapest system but far more costly when heating is needed. Most people nowadays in our area, since we normally have mild winters with few or no days with temperatures in the teens, will buy with a heat pump system.

We at Action Heating and Air Conditioning hope this information was helpful. We all hope for a mild Winter this year.

We at Action Heating and Air Conditioning have been serving the Mobile, Semmes, Theodore, Daphne, Fairhope, Silverhill, Foley, Robertsdale, Loxley, Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and surrounding areas in South Alabama since 1997. We are in our second generation of ownership with trained technicians that are always friendly and courteous. Please call us at 251 272-5900 if we can help you with any of HVAC system needs. Also, you can check out our website at https://www.callaction.net to learn about us and all the services we offer as well as some informative blogs that you may find interesting. Also affordable financing is available when a new Heating and Air Conditioning system is needed in your home or business.