Many attractive older homes in Houston were constructed before forced air heating or air conditioning systems were introduced. If you live in one of such homes, you might be heating with an oil furnace with single central vent or hot water radiators or kerosene heaters or even wood stoves!

Unfortunately, these older systems aren’t nearly as efficient as today’s modern HVAC equipment and in some cases may not be distributing heat evenly throughout your entire home. If you’ve been delaying an upgrade to modern equipment because you don’t want to take a chance of damaging your classic house, adding ductwork and a modern furnace might be easier than you think.

Older Homes without Ductwork

Modern HVAC equipment is much smaller than its older counterparts and can easily fit into your home’s attic, crawl space, or a back corner of your basement. All you need is a power source, access for service, and some space for the supply and return ducts to be installed. Getting main duct lines from the basement to the attic or vice versa is often just a matter of using part of a closet or an out of the way corner that can be boxed in.

Older Homes with Existing Ductwork

If your house has ductwork already in place, then the process of upgrade is quite easy! Your Houston air conditioning repair contractor may be able to install a new heating unit by just making a swap with the outdated furnace, doing a few minor adjustments to the existing ductwork, and hooking up a new fuel source if needed.

Considerations

• You need only a qualified HVAC technician to do the upgrade.
• Qualified and experienced HVAC contractor can determine which new system might work best with your home’s design, ensure your electrical service is adequate for the upgrade, and prevent any possible structural damage to your classic house.