There are many factors that may lead to you consider a high-efficiency furnace to heat your home – rocketing energy bills, environmental concerns, and reducing resources all call for their use. More and more homeowners are looking for a furnace that will help reduce energy costs and contaminate the environment less, without sacrificing the heat produced and ultimately the comfort of their homes.
If you’re new to high-efficiency furnaces as a way of heating your home, read on for this quick guide to understanding how they can work for you!
A high-efficiency furnace
A furnace produces heat using a power source. The more heat it can produce with a given power source, the better – this is one of the measurements of high efficiency. A highly efficient furnace is geared to burn fuel efficiently, requiring minimal energy (generally electricity) to power the fans that circulate the heat inside the house.
Annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE)
This is the measurement of furnace fuel efficiency. AFUE ratings range from 80% to 98.5%, meaning that the highest performing furnace converts 98.5% of its energy source into heat. This means you’re not spending extra money on heating your home!
Fuel source plays an important role
There are gas, electric, and oil furnaces, and each have their pros and cons. For example, gas furnaces are powered by natural gas and are an economical way to heat a home when temperatures drop below freezing. An oil or propane furnace is a powerful source of heat, but may require more room for storage to operate and can be more pollutant than natural gas..
Electricity furnaces are cleaner, and, while they can run up the electricity bill, overall, an electric powered furnace is the most economical furnace installation for home heating. They transfer heat from one air stream to another using less electricity, and can even act as an air conditioner during the summer. An electric furnace does not lose heat through its flue because it doesn’t have a flue, thus achieving an AFUE in the 95% to 98.5% range.
Variable heat output
Furnaces with variable heat output features are considered efficient because this feature can increase efficiency and comfort by automatically varying the amount of heat the furnace produces, usually between two levels. The furnace then continues to produce heat efficiently than one with a fixed heat output could.
Dual heat exchanger
To produce more heat from the air they burn, energy-saving furnaces have a form of support for the primary exchanger: a second exchanger. The second exchanger is protected from the potential of corrosive acidic condensate of the exhaust gases by being made with stainless steel, lined with plastic.
At Thompson Heating and Air Conditioning, we have years of experience when it comes to Albuquerque furnace installation and furnace repair, so, when you’re ready to make the change to a high-efficiency furnace, get in touch with us and see how we can help.