Will have to hope we get thru another winter as that is just not doable right now for us.

The water heater is a different thing altogether, as 20 years is generally outside of the lifecycle. Rust and other stuff might happen to it and cause it to leak etc.

For water heaters, try something like this: https://www.thisoldhouse.com/plumbing/21015245/hot-water-heater-buying-guide

For HVAC, I would make sure you need one. Depending on where you live, if it gets really cold in the winter and it's working, I would leave it until the spring. Annual maintenance usually works well in keeping HVAC's going a long time.

You could also try a home warranty as a hedge against something major going wrong with the HVAC unit. Some of these home warranty companies give low-cost annual maintenance of the units, which protects you and them.

Plus you generally get other coverage with a home warranty (plumbing, electrical, appliances etc).

On HVAC, I think you are better off getting HVAC companies give you estimates. There are calculations that they need to do that I, for example, would not be comfortable doing and getting it wrong. Since it's AC, I'm assuming you have time before it gets hot again.

The water heater is much easier. Your key issues are tank vs. tankless and whether you have to go with natural gas, electric, and, if you're really ahead of the curve, SOLAR!

Good luck!

The heat works, but it only blows warm air for the A/C. We had a guy come look at it ($100) to tell us that it needs Freon. The problem is that the type of Freon it requires is now illegal and you can't get it.

I think mine was installed when the house was built in the 80s.

We tried not to use it very much because it is all electric in my house, and it is very expensive. Probably 20 days out of the year when it is over 90 and we needed to turn it on for my old ma upstairs (where it is hotter in the summer). Since I don't have $17-20K to spend on this right now, I got her a smaller portable A/C unit for $300. It cools her room real nice when we need it.

Next year I am going to try to get a Reverse mortgage and at that time put solar on the roof, a new HVAC, new flooring. I'd like to do more but damn, everything is so expensive these days. I am going to want to make sure that the HVAC I get installed works with Solar.

It's on the WH website, rebates and tax credits. Check with your HVAC dealer, they should probably know the perimeters.

Lots of Fed rebates soon from Joe's program.

Inline water heats water on demand. You never run out & you do not psy to keep a big tank hot because there is no tank.

With heat pump option.

Depends on where you are, how severe your climate is.

Here in red hellhole tn, mine does great for me. My elect bill wss literally $62. And I run dehumidifier function 24/7.

Inverter means it runs all the time, at whichever speed is necessary to meet demand.

You have to pick cooling or heating optimized system & make sure it is sized correctly. There are some freebie hvac sizing apps online to give you an idea of size.

Most heat / cooling loss is through ducts. Eliminate ducted system & wa-lal! Super efficiency!

Our elect went up 40% over summer during hellish heat wave over 100F daily for weeks.

Keeping my house near 65F, my highest elect bill was $119. 👍

Although not the brand I was able to buy, Mitsubishi is hands-down the best.

The units come with lines filled with refrigerant, so you could install yourself, although lines DO need to be vaccumed to remove air.

Noritz is my tankless water heater. Superb company! Will warranty if you self install. Many won't (Rinnai is good but they only warranty if professional installs). Noritz is every bit as good, imo.

just two weeks ago. Mitsubishi hyper heat, five units hook to one exterior condenser/heat pump.
They're great for us, because each room has its own thermostat control. Rooms that we don't use every day can be set to a temp that is just tolerable. We'll see what the electric bills are like.
We would have waited until next year, to see what kind of tax-break we could have gotten, but we have my son's family moving in with us in 3 months or so, and wanted to get that out of the way.

Have to pay to subscribe. I’ve found it well worth the money for 30+ years.

Do you have a neighborhood listserv, like NextDoor? Sometimes neighbors can be good sources of recommendations.

Also: if you get freezing winter weather, do not install a high efficiency gas furnace with a condensate line unless your local code allows it to be installed to drain inside the house. Otherwise the line will freeze and the system will fail, possibly endangering you. Don’t ask how I found out.

My neighbor just got 3 estimates that shocked me. The lowest being $19,000. I’m guessing her home is about 2000 sq feet. So I’d get estimates to repair first before suggesting you are ready to buy a new one just so the company isn’t tempted to push new first regardless the cost 💗

electric backup tne old one was 20 years old. The savings from using fuel oil
saved more than enough to pay for both of them.

Here: https://www.constellation.com/energy-101/homeowners-guide-tax-credits-and-rebates.html

There may be more recent information as well, due to the recent Inflation Reduction Act.

Good luck!

We're looking at a new boiler as well sometime in the next 2-3 years, so please consider sharing what you learn!

helpfully,
Bright

Precharged lines and all, no vacuum equipment or braising. anything. Simple as anything to install. Literally.. the hardest part is drilling a hole in your wall. The inside install is equivalent difficulty to hanging a picture level, and outside about equivalent to wiring a light fixture.