Heating and Air For Your Region's Climate

Depending on where you live, the weather is always different. You may have mild winters and hot summers. You may experience intensely cold winters and mild summer weather. You may have four seasons with extremes at either end or an over arching year full of mild, pleasant weather. The United States is a huge country with a variety of climates and weather patterns.

With all of this variation, heating and air conditioning systems also vary. Some central systems manage both. For people living in extremely cold areas, heat may be the only service you need. For others in warm regions, central air is essential. Here are a look at geographic regions of the United States and the systems that work best for these areas.

The Northeast, especially the New England area, is famous for its four-season weather. With perfect beach going weather in the summers and snow every winter, it's important for homes in this area to be equipped for both heating and air conditioning. Depending on where you live, window units may be a less expensive, more cost effective way of cooling your home in the summer months. Temperatures tend to fluctuate from day time to night, and week to week. With window units, you're not using more energy than you need to. Heating with natural gas or oil is extremely important to maintain your home during the winter months.

In the South, especially the Gulf South, weather gets increasingly warmer in the summer months and the humidity gets very high. For Southern homes in states like Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Louisiana, central air will be essential to creating a comfortable environment indoors. Although this can be an expensive utility, central systems are best for small homes rather than window units. If you have a large house and want to save on energy costs, window units in bedrooms could provide a solution to save money over each night. In general, heating is low cost, so electric systems that combine heating and air are best. The South West, which is similar but has more dry heat, can also use these systems to effectively maintain a comfortable internal temperature.

In the Midwest, you will have surprisingly low temperatures in the winter and surprisingly high temperatures in the summer. This is generally because these states are land locked, with no ocean coast to mellow out the weather. In these cases it may be important not only to have air conditioning but two heating systems, one as a backup. Many homes have a central system and an augmentative system, such as a fireplace or wood-burning stove, to maintain a comfortable temperature.

The West Coast states have a surprisingly diverse range of climates and weather patterns. Some areas of California are known for their seemingly endless string of 70-degree days. Other regions in Oregon and Washington, because of the terrain, have a variety of climate patterns within hours of each other, sunny then snowing! Depending on the weather of where you live, you will have to find the right system for you.