Why Your HVAC System Deserves Attention

If any aspect of your home deserves prime funding and attention, it's your HVAC system. Why? If your home's temperature is out of whack, nothing else about it really matters. There are always some exceptions, some positive points that those eternal optimists might see. If you're the type to see a few drops of liquid and imagine that it's nearly making the glass "half full," you may well be deluded enough to think that other areas of your home are better off receiving your attention than your HVAC system. 

Some of those areas include the following:

1. New Kitchen Countertops

In addition to its popularity and timeless beauty, granite is well known for coming with a mighty high price tag. In fact, its costliness may prohibit you from being able to make needed repairs to your HVAC system. However, when comparing granite to other countertop materials, you'll notice that it is cool to the touch. So on that 104 degree day when the heat index says it actually feels like 110, you can lie down on your nice, cool granite countertops. When you fall off or your back complains, be sure to remind yourself of why countertops were a better investment than your air conditioner would have been.

2. A Whirlpool Tub or Jacuzzi

In many ways, there's nothing more relaxing than sinking deep into a tub of hot water, jets pulsating at your back. Words like relaxing, soothing, and bliss will come to mind. If your home boasts a picturesque mountain view, the rejuvenating power of a tub is heightened when it's part of your outdoor paradise. But in the dead of winter, when you're shivering in the thickest hooded sweatshirt you could find, will you really want to tip toe through the frosty night air in order to arrive at your blissful tub? You might, at that point, wish for a simple luxury you chose to eliminate in order to afford your Jacuzzi: working heat.

3. New Flooring

Whether you chose to rip up old shag carpet and install wood or tile floors or cover those cold, uncaring surfaces with a luxurious nap, will you regret that choice? In the cool of autumn, those cold tile floors may be refreshing. However, what about in January, if your heating system groans and then refuses to comply with your demands: will fuzzy socks be enough? What about the hot summer days when your air conditioning does little more than circulate the air. Will that thick carpet soak up enough sweat to make it worth your while?

Of course, home improvement decisions are constant. However, it doesn't take too much foresight to realize that making sure your HVAC system is in working order is far more important than adding costly extras to your home.