2019 marks 40 years in business for Brower Mechanical — and each of those 40 years has been special! What has us so excited about our company “birthday” isn’t just the fact that we have been able to keep our doors open for four decades; it’s also all the homes of our family, friends and neighbors that have become more comfortable and energy efficient in that time.
What We’ve Learned: Change is Constant
The fearless leaders here at Brower, Duane and Bill, spoke about our 40th birthday in a recent episode of the Brower Power Hour. As Duane and Bill reflected on their time at Brower, they took note of all of the changes in technology and home comfort since the mid 20th century. Remember swamp coolers? Believe it or not, there was a time where that was the pinnacle of home comfort here in Sacramento! That’s quite a far cry from where technology is now when it comes to staying cool at home.
The Rise of the “Home as a System”
As home comfort technology has advanced, so has the need for interconnectivity and efficiency. The approach has changed from treating a singular symptom of a home, to looking at the whole house as a system. Each area of your home affects your overall comfort, from the crawlspace to the roof. Instead of upgrading to larger and more expensive air conditioners to keep an inefficient home cool in the California summer, we have learned that upgrading the insulation and air seal of a home will provide a stronger building envelope and keep all that cool air inside a home.
With Brower, understanding the current state of your home performance begins with a professional energy audit, which will uncover your home’s inefficiencies from top to bottom.
Smart Technology and Electrification
Our phones got smarter, and so did our homes. With smartphone technology came smart appliances and smarter ways to save energy. You can now turn on your furnace while your on vacation in Florida, and your thermostat can learn from your behavior so that you aren’t wasting any additional energy keeping an empty house comfortable. You can even see how much energy your new solar panels are producing during the day, right from your phone!
But one of the most “electrifying” moves we have seen in the HVAC and home performance industry is the all electric home. As natural gas prices have become unpredictable, and SMUD implemented their Time Of Use program for electricity rates, electrifying is the first choice for homeowners that are looking to save money and reduce their carbon footprint.
Making Sacramento Homes Healthier
We have learned a lot about how to keep a healthy home in the last 40 years. Electric furnaces reduce the harmful byproducts of combustion appliances, properly designed ductwork prevents allergens and contaminants from circulating throughout your home, and state of the art ventilation systems can remove even the smallest of particles from your breathing air.
Solar!
We have had quite the ride with solar energy in the last decade. The efficiency of solar panels has steadily risen, while the cost has continued to drop. Brower Mechanical has developed a philosophy of “go small solar”, which means getting your energy needs as small as possible before you install a solar electric system. The less energy your home is wasting, the less solar panels you will need. Reduce before you produce!
40 Years of Experience, On Display
We’ve taken our 40 years of experience and put it on display in our Exploratorium Showroom. You can compare a typical attic to a healthy attic, enter the dimensions of your pool to find the opportunities for energy savings, and perform an up close and personal inspection out top of the line solar panels!
We have gone to great lengths to make sure Sacramento homeowners have access to answers when it comes to making their homes more comfortable, energy efficient, and environmentally friendly. And we thank each and every one of our customers for making all 40 years in business an absolute pleasure!
We’ve learned a thing or two in our 40 years in business — call Brower Mechanical for all your Sacramento heating and cooling needs! Give us a call at (916) 775-7492 or contact us today.