Replacing a furnace is a big decision that will affect your energy bills and comfort for the next several years of your life. One of the most important aspects to determine is how efficient of a furnace you should buy.
The Mark of Efficient Furnaces
It is really easy to compare the efficiency of different furnaces by looking at their annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating. This rating is a measure of what percent of fuel is converted into the heat.
A highly efficient furnace will waste less fuel, which leads to lower energy bills. The highest efficiency units on the market today can achieve almost 100 percent AFUE. However, higher efficiency furnaces typically cost more up-front. If you stick to a furnace in the standard efficiency range you can still see AFUE ratings of around 80 percent.
How Efficiency and Cost Combine
Cost is one of the most important factors for a big purchase. So while a higher efficiency is slightly better for the environment, the biggest difference for the average homeowner comes from the cost.
Keep the following in mind when looking at furnaces:
Typical usage: If you run it a lot, then efficiency matters more. A higher efficiency furnace will save you more as your usage increases.
Utility costs: Check out the cost of your local utilities. If the cost is really high, it makes sense to want to minimize the use of them by getting a more efficient unit.
Your home: This is related to your usage as well. If your home is not well-insulated, it will lose a lot of heat. This means your furnace will have to run more to compensate, and again a higher efficiency would be important.
While you might have a good feel for the level of efficiency you're looking for among efficient furnaces, an HVAC contractor should be able to run multiple cost estimates of different models to get a concrete answer. Contact us at Air Assurance to get help finding the perfect furnace for your Oklahoma home.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in the Tulsa and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma area about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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