HVAC

Reggie has complained a lot this winter about his room being too hot.  It is very stuffy and the heat blows so hard up there, even though we have shut the registers, which I know is bad for the furnace, but we didn't really have a choice.  Our room is freezing in the winter and hot in the summer, along with the piano room, so I decided to have a few HVAC people over to determine the best fix.  We were considering mini split heat pumps because mom and dad have had good luck, but they also make a large heat pump that can replace a furnace.  So, we got ideas all over the place and prices ranging from $13,000-$28,000.  The heat pump option was really pricey, so we crossed it off the list.  It almost seemed more confusing by the end of it, but Miller's made the most sense.  Our vents were in the wrong place and too small in our room, so they thought it made sense to reduct the downstairs.  This was turning out to be a HUGE project because our furnace was over 25 years old and our air conditioner was not far behind, so we basically had to replace the entire system.  And then, they found asbestos!  Most of the places were not willing to remove it, but Miller's said it was a small enough area that they could do it, so that right there saved us at least $2,000.  They had a crew at our house for an entire week and because they were working in the crawl space, there was dust everywhere.  Thankfully, it was a mild week because we were without heat or air, so we were just a little chilly in the mornings.  We also decided to upgrade the furnace and AC unit to be eligible for the California rebate and we passed the testing, so we'll receive $3,000 back.  It was still a huge chunk of cash, but the house is now 2 zone, so we can turn on the upstairs by itself or just the downstairs and as a bonus, we got smart thermostats, so we can control it from our phones!