Our Hometown, Your New Heating System
We’ve been right here in Abbeville since 1956. Our shop on South John M. Hardy Drive is a few minutes from every neighborhood in town, from the older homes along the Vermilion River to the subdivisions near Magdalen Square and Veterans Memorial Park. When it’s time for a new heating system, you’re working with the crew that grew up here, not a contractor driving in from two parishes over.
Abbeville’s housing stock is a mix. You’ll find homes built in the 1940s and 50s along Charity Street and the streets near downtown, homes from the 70s and 80s in the neighborhoods surrounding Pere Megret Park, and newer construction on the outskirts toward Maurice and Erath. Each era of home has different heating needs, different ductwork configurations, and different challenges. We’ve installed systems in all of them.
Gas Furnace or Heat Pump: Making the Right Call
This is the first real question for any Abbeville homeowner replacing a heating system. Both work well here, but they work differently, and the best choice depends on your home and your priorities.
Heat pumps are the more popular option in Vermilion Parish. A heat pump moves heat instead of creating it, running on electricity alone. In Abbeville’s mild climate (average January lows around 39 degrees), a heat pump operates at peak efficiency nearly all winter. You also get air conditioning from the same unit, which simplifies your system. The trade-off is that on those rare nights that dip into the mid-20s, a heat pump leans on backup electric heat strips that use more energy.
Gas furnaces make sense if your home already has a gas line run to the unit location. Natural gas is still affordable in our area, and a furnace produces hotter air at the register than a heat pump does. Some homeowners, especially in older homes where insulation is thin and windows are drafty, prefer the warmer discharge temperature. If you’re replacing an existing gas furnace, staying with gas often keeps installation costs lower because the gas piping and flue are already in place.
A third option is a dual-fuel system: a heat pump paired with a gas furnace. The heat pump handles heating and cooling most of the year, and the furnace kicks in only on the coldest nights. It’s the most efficient setup overall, though it costs more upfront.
Load Calculations and Proper Sizing
Every installation starts with a Manual J load calculation. We measure your home’s square footage, insulation levels, window area and orientation, ceiling heights, and ductwork condition. This tells us the exact heating capacity your home needs.
Oversizing is a common mistake. An oversized furnace short-cycles, running for a few minutes, reaching temperature quickly, and shutting off before the air has been properly distributed through the house. It wastes energy and creates uneven temperatures. An oversized heat pump has the same problem, plus it can’t adequately dehumidify in summer. Louisiana humidity makes proper sizing critical on both sides of the calendar.
What Installation Day Looks Like
A straightforward furnace or heat pump replacement typically takes one full day. We remove the old equipment, install the new unit, make all gas, electrical, and refrigerant connections, and test the system thoroughly before we leave. If we’re converting from one system type to another (say, swapping a gas furnace for a heat pump), allow a day and a half for the additional wiring and configuration work.
We handle ductwork evaluation as part of every installation. If your ducts are leaking or undersized, even the best equipment won’t perform the way it should. We’ll tell you upfront if duct repairs need to happen before or alongside the installation.
Lennox® Premier Dealer
As a Lennox Premier Dealer, we install Lennox high-efficiency furnaces and heat pumps that carry some of the best warranty coverage in the industry. We also service all major brands, so if you prefer a different manufacturer, we can accommodate that too.
Ready to talk about a new heating system for your Abbeville home? Call F & R Air Conditioning at (337) 893-5646. We’ll come take a look and give you an honest recommendation based on what your home actually needs.