With summers and winters getting extreme each year, my husband and I have decided to forego our annual Christmas trip and instead invest the money in a new heating system for our house. The past winter was a nightmare for our family; our whole-home heating system failed during the coldest month. Before it failed, we experienced sudden shutdowns with the heat pump, which indicated a problem. We had to move to my parent’s house for a week as the HVAC professional came around to assess the situation. The heating company’s specialist found that the air conditioning filter needed replacement despite us having changed it a month before winter started. They also found out that our home’s heat pump installation was inefficient for our home and would need to be changed for us to avoid more issues in the future. The heating technician explained that repair and heater maintenance was a temporary fix that would help with indoor comfort for the rest of winter. However, apart from a routine air conditioner tune-up at the end of the season, we would need to invest in new equipment. We thought a new system was a bit extreme and even believed the specialist was only looking to find more customers for their heating business. After learning more about the heating challenges that our neighbors, who moved into the area around the same time as we did, were facing, we realized it was not a scheme. Our Christmas shopping now consists of contacting the heating dealer for consultation and learning about the best heating and cooling products in the heating industry for our home. Funding out about the smart thermostat was a pleasant surprise, and we would include it in our new home heating system.