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70 Years of knowing What Others Don't
Your Home has a history.
Your heating system probably does too.
For 70 years, we've been helping homeowners solve the heating and cooling problems that aren't always found in the manual.
Older homes can have older systems - boilers, radiators, steam heat, hydronic piping, unusual controls and decades of modifications.
That's where experience matters.
Have a difficult system?
See what we specialize in!
70 YEARS MULTIPLE GENERATIONS ONE TRADE
Some things change. Experience stays.
For seven decades, our company has worked in homes throughout the Madison area, helping generation after generation of homeowners stay comfortable.
We've seen heating technology change dramatically. We've worked on systems that were considered modern when they were installed - and systems that were already considered "old" when we first encountered them.
What hasn't changed is the value of knowing how things work.
Today - current family or
technician photo
70 years of experience doesn't mean we live in the past. It means we know how to understand it.
Does this sound familiar?
Maybe your house has a system that doesn't look like anything you've seen at the home improvement store. Do you find yourself saying:
"It's older than I am!"
You have a boiler, furnace or air conditioner that's been running for decades.
"Nobody seems to understand it."
You've had multiple companies look at it, but nobody seems comfortable working with it.
"It works... mostly."
The system isn't necessarily broken. It just doesn't work the way it used to.
"I don't want someone
to replace everything"
You want someone to figure out what's actually wrong before recommending a major replacement.
"There's a story behind this system."
Previous owners have made modifications, additions and repairs over the years.
If you nodded at any of those, we should probably talk.
We like the difficult ones.
We do all the things you'd expect from a full-service HVAC company.
Boilers, Furnaces, Air Conditioners, Heat Pumps, Radiant Heating and more.
We work with them all, but...
Over the years, we've developed a particular appreciation for the systems that require a little more investigation.
Hydronics. Boilers. Steam. Radiators. Older controls. Unusual piping. Systems that have been modified over decades.
When a problem doesn't have an obvious answer, experience matters.
Hydronics
Hot-water heating systems and the components that make them work.
Pic of a hydronic system
Boilers
From newer high-efficiency equipment to older systems that still have life left in them.
Pic of an Old Boiler
Steam
Systems that require understanding -
not guesswork.
Pic of interesting piping
Radiators
Cast iron, unusual configurations and systems that have been in homes for generations.
Unusual Systems
If you've never seen it before, that doesn't mean we haven't.
Pic of an unusual system
Old Radiator (1900's) vs New Sculpture Radiator
Before Repairs
After Repairs
Old doesn't always mean obsolete.
We don't automatically replace it.
When you have an older system, replacing it may be the right answer.
But it may not be.
Sometimes the best solution is a repair. Sometimes it's an upgrade. Sometimes it's correcting something that was done years ago. And sometimes replacement really is the smartest investment.
Our job is to figure out which one makes sense for your home.
Old Boiler
Old Furnace
Old Air Conditioner
some of the problems we've been called to solve
Actual Job #1
Photo
Story of job #1 - what was the challenge, how did we solve it?
Actual Job #2
Photo
Story of job #2 - what was the challenge, how did we solve it?
Actual Job #3
Photo
Story of job #3 - what was the challenge, how did we solve it?
The Home nobody wanted to touch
E&W Heating and Air Conditioning received a call from a homeowner who had called a number of other heating contractors who all took one look at the home and the project and never called them back. The home was built in the 1970's and had more than its share of idiosyncrasies. Here are just a few of the items that scared off the other contractors: The house has a very open floor plan with not many options when it comes to hiding piping. The lower level and first floor of the 3-story house are both concrete. The owners wanted a radiant floor on the main level. Before the retrofit, the homeowners relied on electric baseboard convectors that never did the job. Most of the time the homeowners had to use the home's massive fireplace for heat, but that only took the chill out of the air. The home was never comfortable from a heating/cooling perspective.
After discussing all the possibilities with the homeowners, they settled onto a plan and E&W got to work. The team snaked copper pipes into the back section of the home and installed a manifold into the bowels of a tiny closet. They laid tubing directly on the old floor for radiant heat and a new wood floor covered the work. E&W determined that the heat loss would be too great to use the floor as the only heat source, however the homeowner wanted to continue to use the fireplace, so we installed extra valves in the system for a wall panel down the road if they change their mind and want to add wall radiators.
Homes get passed down. so does knowledge.
A home can be more than a building.
It's where families grow up. Where children become parents. Where grandparents gather. Where memories accumulate.
And sometimes, the heating system has been there through all of it.
We've spent 70 years working in homes like that.
We've learned from the generations before us - and we're passing that knowledge along to the next generation.
Photos of the family
Multiple generations
in one pic if possible
Do not need to be working on equipment.
Photos of the family
Multiple generations
in one pic if possible
Do not need to be working on equipment.
Photos of the family
Multiple generations
in one pic if possible
Do not need to be working on equipment.
FAMILY OWNED AND OPERATED
Since being founded in 1956 by Emmett and Wayne Ward (Father & Son), E&W has positioned itself as a leading design/installation contractor in the world of hydronic heating and alternative air conditioning systems. We are now operated by the third generation of family members Greg & Mike (brothers) with the fourth generation in training.
Conventional or Custom, Historic or Modern, Air or Water
We solve problems. Our solutions often involve extraordinary comfort with healthy benefits and maximized energy savings. We emphasize alternatives; flexible and often more efficient ductless heating and cooling is one example.
Our first love - Hydronics (heating or cooling with water) is an old love. Our grandfather and father specialized in radiant floor heating and oil burners. Now we have modern radiators that are works of art or can function as furniture.
Regardless of the solution to your system's needs, E&W focuses on the quality of our work and integrity of our people.
Before you call an hvac company,
take a picture
If you have an older home, a picture of your equipment can tell a technician a surprising amount.
Take a few photos of your boiler, furnace, air conditioner, heat pump, controls, piping and thermostat. It can help us understand what you're working with before we even arrive.
Keeping records about your equipment can help speed the process up!
Download our Older-Home HVAC Checklist