High-efficiency furnaces were revolutionary in the HVAC industry. They create significantly more heat with the same amount of fuel, which ultimately saves you money, keeps your home comfortable and benefits the environment. How do you know if your current furnace is high-efficiency, or if the one you’re considering buying is? Here’s our guide to high-efficiency furnaces.
How You Can Tell if it’s a High-Efficiency Furnace?
A high-efficiency furnace is specifically a furnace that has an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating of 80% or more. The best has 97% or higher AFUEs. That’s very helpful if you’re looking at a furnace available for sale, where metrics are easy to find. But what if you’re looking at the furnace in your home? It can be hard to find it’s AFUE. So, you may need to rely on other hints that your furnace is high-efficiency, such as:
- Age: High-efficiency furnaces first hit the market less than 15 years ago. So, if your furnace is 15 years old, or older, it can’t be high-efficiency. That said, high-efficiency furnaces last longer than others. Units that are seven to ten years old, and still in great condition, may be high-efficiency.
- Noise: High-efficiency units are markedly quieter than older kinds of furnaces. If you hear a big difference between your furnace and the furnace you hear in other homes, it may be high-efficiency.
- Utility bills: High-efficiency units use less energy than others and should give you consistent bills year to year unless they need repairs.
- Heating: These furnace units are also better at dispersing heat through the home than older models. There should be no cold spots or hot spots in your home when you have a high-efficiency furnace.
If you are having trouble identifying whether your furnace is high-efficiency contact our experts, we would be happy to help.
The Benefits of a High-Efficiency Furnace
Should you buy that high-efficiency furnace you’re eying? There are many benefits to picking a furnace with 80 or higher AFUE. Here are some of them:
- Better combustion: high-efficiency furnaces have combustion units that are completely sealed off from your home. That means it doesn’t negatively affect household humidity and there’s no risk of back drafting. That makes your home safer and more comfortable.
- Savings: While a high-efficiency furnace costs more, it uses less energy to generate the same heat. That means you will spend less on utilities when you have a high-efficiency furnace. It’ll also last longer, which means you get more bang for your buck.
- Less noise: Does your current HVAC equipment disturb your sleep, wake the baby, or just annoy you? high-efficiency furnaces are quieter and therefore not as disruptive.
Save money and stay comfortable during the winter months with a high-efficiency furnace. Contact us today to learn more about a high-efficiency furnace.
