Is it Time for a High-Efficiency Furnace?
Heating your home typically represents about 45% of your utility bill. No wonder so many of Jansen Heating & Cooling customers ask about high-efficiency furnaces when it’s time to replace their heating system!
“Efficiency” refers to how successfully a furnace converts energy from gas, electricity, oil or propane into warm, comfortable heat. As we are an authorized Carrier HVAC repair service company, we often recommend Carrier furnaces that can provide up to 98.5% AFUE efficiency.
What makes a furnace “high-efficiency?”
A gas furnace considered “high efficiency” has a 90 percent or higher AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency). Some go up to 98.5 percent. AFUE measures how much heat the furnace can derive from the fuel used.
AFUE is amount of heat produced in BTUs (British Thermal Units) compared to the quantity of fuel used. The U.S. Department of Energy requires all furnace makers to communicate each model’s efficiency via a yellow Energy Guide sticker on the outside of the furnace. You can usually find the AFUE for a model you are considering on the brand’s website, or in their brochures.
What are the benefits and drawbacks?
A fuel-efficient home comfort system offers homeowners lower energy costs with less environmental impact. Because these furnaces and heat pumps do such a good job of turning fuel into warm air, less fuel is required, resulting in lower emissions. In many cases, high-efficiency models incorporate technology that can enhance comfort with quieter operation.
But furnaces that operate more efficiently often cost more. With regular maintenance, that difference will be offset by lower heating bills for the entire time you own the HVAC equipment.
If your furnace is older (more than 15 years) age and becoming more and more expensive to keep in good repair, replacing your old furnace with a more efficient model might be a smart decision. Your aged system may only be operating half as efficiently as a new model would (yours may be functioning at 56-70% AFUE), so you are spending a lot more on fuel than necessary.
A gas furnace that operates more efficiently can cut your energy bill every month for decades. A new system with good warranties should be more reliable, requiring fewer service calls than your older furnace, at least for the first five years or so.
When it is time to consider a new heating system, have a Cincinnati furnace repair company with good reviews compare the energy and maintenance costs of your current system to a suggested upgrade.
How new furnaces squeeze more heat from the fuel they use
High-efficiency furnaces include technology and components not found on standard models:
- Carrier gas furnaces with Greenspeed®intelligence combine a multi-stage modulating gas valve, patented electronic controls and variable-speed blower motors to match the furnace’s heating capacity to temperature and humidity conditions.
- Carrier ComfortFan™ technology allows selecting furnace fan speeds from your Infinity controls.
Other features in these furnaces include
- coordination with your cooling system to help cut indoor humidity in the summer,
- sealed combustion systems that pull air from the outdoors for combustion and two-stage warming.
Even Carrier models without these upscale features offer 90% AFUE, if they have two heat exchangers.
The primary one draws out the first 80% efficiency, while the secondary exchanger draws from the remaining usable combustion energy.
As one of the best and most reputable heating companies in Cincinnati, Jansen can help you make the best high-efficiency furnace decision for your home and finances.