Understand the Role of HVAC in Your Home’s Resale Value

For many potential buyers, the HVAC system is an important factor in evaluating a home’s value. For homeowners, this means setting up and maintaining a high-quality system. Here is a look at how installing new AC or heating systems affect your home’s resale value.

Age

A top factor for buyers is the HVAC system’s age. While the heating and air conditioning systems might achieve more than 20 years of service with proper care, a buyer is risking a bigger chance if the HVAC system is older. They must think about the potential replacement cost, and they’ll expect a significant portion of that projected expense to come off the price of the house.

Remaining Warranty

Transferable warranties are common from HVAC manufacturers. The ability to document the remaining warranty and transfer it to an eventual buyer offers some assurance. Even if the remaining warranty is a year or two, that guarantee goes a long way. Be sure to document the warranty’s length and whether it’s transferable, though.

Efficiency

The cost of owning the HVAC system is just as important. Buyers want to know they will get some service years out of an HVAC system, but they also want to know the unit won’t cost them a lot of money in operating costs. The ability to verify that both the heating and cooling systems are efficient will encourage buyers to pay a little extra.

SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) is the go-to rating for cooling systems. A higher rating means a more efficient system and lower cooling costs. In our part of North Carolina, the SEER rating should be at least 14. Higher is better. AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) is the efficiency rating for heating systems. Modern furnaces and other heating systems should have an AFUE greater than 90%.

Regional Climate

This part of the country has a reputation for cool winters and sultry summers. Consequently, many prospective home buyers focus on the air conditioning system. If you’re looking to maximize a home’s value in this area, you will want to make the AC unit a priority.

Maintenance History

The maintenance history of an HVAC system can offer some assurance to home buyers, particularly if the system is older. Current homeowners should schedule heating and cooling maintenance at least once a year. Our technicians can check for issues with a variety of HVAC components, including filters, compressors, blower motors, and refrigerant lines. We can also provide a report detailing what the system needed and when we performed the work.

Keep a file with the entire maintenance history for the unit, starting from the time you purchased it. Not only does this provide evidence about the HVAC system’s current condition, but it also attests to the fact that you didn’t neglect the heating and cooling systems.

If the system is over 10 years old, you may also want to consider scheduling twice-a-year checkups. Our technicians can tune settings, lubricate moving parts, and clean components that frequently get dirty. You may also want to schedule a tune-up before the house goes on the market.

Features

Features also help home value, particularly if the features in question are highly reusable. For example, a feature-rich smart thermostat stands a good chance of outlasting the attached HVAC unit. This has value to home buyers, especially if the system offers features that tend to encourage efficiency without affecting comfort, such as scheduling, connectivity, maintenance and cycle tracking, and geofencing.

Expected Return

The odds are very low that you’ll receive your full investment in exchange for installing an HVAC unit. Home buyers are always going to mentally depreciate the system’s contribution to the home’s value. However, a relatively young system with good features, high efficiency, and a documented history of maintenance will typically return between 30% to 60% of what you put into it. That means you can expect a percentage of the HVAC system’s original price to appear as a boost to the home’s value.

Integrity Heating & Cooling proudly serves the homeowners of Charlotte, NC, and the surrounding areas. Our work is backed by 35 years in business and a 100% satisfaction guarantee. We offer help with installations, repairs, upgrades, and maintenance for systems from nearly all home heating and cooling manufacturers. Financing is also available to qualified customers upon approval for installs.

If you’re curious about how you might boost your Charlotte home’s value with HVAC maintenance or improvements, contact Integrity Heating & Cooling today.