Confused About Furnace Efficiency Ratings? Here's Your Expert Guide

If you're in the market for a new furnace, one of the first things you'll encounter are furnace efficiency ratings. These ratings tell you how much of the fuel the system uses that goes directly into your home as heat and how much the furnace wastes. There's a close relationship between the ratings and the size and price of the furnace you need for your home.

The efficiency ratings for gas furnaces are called AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency). The minimum starts at 80 which means that the furnace uses 80 percent of the fuel it consumes for heating your home and it wastes 20 percent of the gas up the chimney or elsewhere. Systems are available with AFUE ratings as high as 99 percent, indicating they waste a mere 1 percent of the fuel they use.

Furnaces whose AFUE ratings are over 90 are usually condensing furnaces and they use a second heat exchanger to extract the heat from the water vapor burned gas creates. These systems have a slightly different configuration than the normal gas furnace and a higher price tag, but their efficiency promises significantly lower energy bills for years to come, offsetting the cost. Some units provide up to 98% efficient capabilities!

Mid-range furnace efficiency ratings have AFUE ratings in the mid-80s and if your home won't easily accept a condensing furnace, such a furnace is likely to provide you with higher efficiency than your current system offers. Some of these use two-stage heating, an energy saver when temperatures are milder and your home's heating needs are lower.

The size you need and the AFUE rating are related. Since a furnace with a higher AFUE puts out more heat, you may not need as large a system, which generally costs less. The HVAC contractor you work with should perform a load calculation using Manual J and S, both of which take into account the variables in your home that contribute to the system size you need.

To learn more about furnace efficiency ratings, contact the pros at Air Assurance, providing outstanding HVAC services for homeowners in the Broken Arrow area since 1985.

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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Efficient Furnace? Get the Most Out of the System in Your Tulsa Home

Winter can mean high heating bills here in Northeastern Oklahoma. Purchasing an efficient furnace is a great decision, and can result in a lot of energy and money savings over the lifetime of the system. You may find, however, that the efficient furnace isn't enough- it needs an efficient household to operate at peak efficiency. If your efficient furnace isn't at its best, there are a few things you can do to reduce your energy use and give your furnace a boost. These tips can also help to improve the performance of an older, less efficient furnace if you aren't quite ready to replace it.

The first step in boosting your furnace's heating power is making sure to schedule routine maintenance. Even if there doesn't seem to be a problem, have a professional give your furnace a check-up every year. This habit is fairly low-cost, and will catch small problems before they become major issues. You should also be sure to change your furnace's air filter routinely. It's recommended that you change it every three months, but you can replace it monthly if anyone in your home has air quality concerns. Blocked filters can overwork your heater and waste energy.

Once you've done the maintenance on your furnace, it's time to to make sure the house itself is well-sealed. Check around the house for leaks, or hire a professional to do an energy evaluation. Seal any gaps that you find around windows and doors, and fill in any gaps in insulation. It's also important to check your ductwork, as duct leaks are often a major culprit in home heat loss.

To save even more on energy costs, change your heating habits. Turn down the thermostat a couple of degrees, or install a programmable thermostat, which will heat the house based on your schedule and preferences, even when no one is home. Be careful not to change your thermostat settings too often. Frequent temperature adjustments can put undue strain on your furnace.

Contact Air Assurance for more expert advice on using your efficient furnace and increasing household efficiency in Broken Arrow.

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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Installing a New Furnace? Questions to Ask Your HVAC Contractor

If you’re planning on installing a new furnace or air conditioner, arm yourself with these questions to ask your HVAC technician before the installation process begins.

• Are you licensed and insured? Ask for the contractor’s license number and verify it with the Oklahoma Construction Industries Board. Then, ask whether the contractor has liability and worker’s compensation insurance. Odds are the job will go smoothly, but just in case, insurance guarantees you are not responsible for any accident or injury.

• Are you NATE certified? While you certainly want a contractor who is licensed and insured, take it one step further by asking about North American Technician Excellence (NATE) certification. This is the only third-party certification program for HVAC technicians recognized across the industry.

• Can you give me references and a written bid? Check with references and compare bids from three or more contractors before making your choice.

• How will you size my new furnace? If the contractor says they plan on installing a new furnace based on square footage alone, look elsewhere. This inaccurate rule of thumb won’t provide the accurate sizing you need for efficient performance and maximum home comfort. Formal calculations are found in Manual J, and that’s what you want your contractor to refer to when sizing your new HVAC equipment.

• Are there any rebates available? Many companies consider this a hassle. Paperwork, delayed payment, etc can deter them from doing the right thing. Always ask or do your research. WIth the many rebates available currently, you can purchase higher efficiency units at the same cost as the lower efficient units for the same net cost!

• What energy efficiency should I choose? Discuss all your options with the contractor and figure out your return on investment for more costly but also more efficient furnaces so you can make an informed decision.

• What about warranties? Compare warranty options between units. Get any guarantees from the contractor in writing.

• Will someone come and inspect my system? It’s common practice for the contractor to revisit your home about one month after installation to verify the furnace is working correctly.

• What maintenance should I perform? Taking good care of your furnace after it’s installed will help it perform efficiently and last years longer. Learn about changing the filter and sign up for a maintenance agreement.

Air Assurance is a reputable, affordable contractor in Broken Arrow. To start the process of installing a new furnace, contact us today.

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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New Furnace? What Else Should You Include With Your Installation?

When you reached the decision to replace that ailing furnace, it may have seemed you’d done all the work expected of a homeowner. Surely, now it’s all up to your trusted installer to get the project under way? Not entirely. There are a number of possible additional features you might want to consider with your new furnace installation, to further upgrade your northeastern Oklahoma home. What else should you include?

Chimney Liner

If your new furnace is more than 80 percent efficient -- as most modern appliances are -- the manufacturer may well mandate that your contractor install a chimney liner. Venting through an improperly prepared chimney can pose serious health risks.

Humidifiers

Moist air allows the body’s natural defenses to more effectively block viruses and bacteria. It also keeps nasal passages and lungs better lubricated, which often alleviates allergy symptoms. Consider the installation of a whole-house humidifier along with your new furnace.

Filtration

Regular fiberglass mat or pleated paper filters serve to extend furnace life by protecting the air mover (blower) from abrasive material. There are, however, several enhanced filtration options available to you. These require special housings to accommodate them, so it’s cost-effective to have them installed when the other work is being done. Consider:

• Deep-pleated conventional filters, which work far more effectively than the typical, inch-thick units.

• Electronic air cleaners, which use advanced technology to remove a wider range of contaminants.

Thermostats

Thermostat technology has come a long way in recent years.

• Programmable thermostats allow your system to react to usage patterns, only heating the home when it’s occupied.

• Zoned thermostats keep empty living space cooler than the rooms you most often use.

• Wi-fi thermostats allow you to alter settings from remote locations, and can even react to local weather bulletins without your input.

Supplemental furnace equipment can increase both fuel efficiency and safety of system operation. To ensure you get the best from an appliance that may well be heating your home for decades, discuss your requirements in detail with a tech from Air Assurance Heating, Air Conditioning and Plumbing. We serve the entire greater Tulsa metropolitan area.

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).  Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Efficient Furnaces Are the Rage, but How Efficient Should Yours Be?

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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An Efficient Furnace Should Have an Efficient House

Having an efficient furnace goes a long way toward cutting your heating costs, but if your home lacks adequate insulation, has heat losses through the windows, or substantial air leaks, you may not notice as much savings. One of the best ways to learn if you could achieve lower energy bills is with an energy audit that you or a professional can perform.

A professional audit will show you where you have air leaks throughout your home's exterior and detect any leaks in the ductwork that cause high energy consumption. The auditing team will also evaluate your attic insulation to see if and where you need more. The centerpiece of the audit is a blower door test that pulls the air from your home and pulls it inside anywhere you have leaks and gaps. The professionals pinpoint the locations using thermographic equipment that shows the temperature difference between the incoming air.

You can perform your own audit by closing up your home and turning on the kitchen and bathroom fans. As you walk through your home with a candle or incense stick, note where the smoke wavers, indicating a leak. Once finished, you can seal smaller air leaks with suitable caulk. Expanding foam will seal larger leaks around the foundation or in the attic. Weatherstripping around exterior door frames will tighten the seal.

The recommended level of insulation in attics in this region stands R-38 or 16 inches. Increasing it will quickly help your efficient furnace run less. Thermal losses from either the roof or the windows increase the need for heat substantially.

Windows are a bit more challenging to weatherize, but doing so will cut your heating costs. Options include replacement with Energy Star or thermal windows, but if those aren't in the budget, consider plastic window kits that stop some of the heat transfer. Heavy drapes will also stop the losses, especially when they lie close to the window.

To learn more about increasing your energy savings with an efficient furnace, contact Air Assurance. We've provided top-notch HVAC services for Broken Arrow homeowners for more than 30 years.

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). Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Two-Stage Furnaces: Find Out How They Do Their Job

According to the U.S. Government's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, 70 percent of American homes are heated by furnaces. Of those, the majority are the single-stage variety – which are likely what you think of when you hear the word "furnace". The operation of a single-stage furnace is simple: it's sized so that it can heat your entire home to a comfortable temperature in the coldest outdoor conditions your geographic region experiences.  When it's not that cold out, and your furnace is in operation, it switches on or off, generating heat until your comfortable temperature is reached or exceeded, and then switches off until the home cools enough for it to turn on again.

While there's a certain elegance to this performance, it also has drawbacks. The fluctuating level of sound from a furnace turning on and off continually is distracting to some, as is the accompanying temperature fluctuation. A system designed for extreme conditions often uses more energy than one designed for nominal conditions. And any mechanical system that switches on and off frequently experiences more wear than one that doesn't.

These are the problems that a two-stage furnace solves:

A two-stage furnace can operate at two capacities: high and low. The high capacity is your traditional furnace, able to handle the coldest temperatures nature will throw at you. But the lower stage is meant for the cool but not frigid weather – it's sized to keep you warm in the cooler parts of spring and fall, not the nadir of winter.

This means that with a two-stage furnace, each season has a heating system sized to warm you continually and minimize disruption, and that you're not paying for the heavy lifting in seasons where a lighter touch will do. Offering energy savings as well as increased home comfort, these systems are attractive options for homes in climates with a range of cooler temperatures.

If you want more, currently, there are "modulating" furnaces.  These take out the high/low, and actually modulate at any BTU rating within the spectrum.  Talk about serious comfort and efficiency!

To learn more, or to schedule a contractor visit today, contact Air Assurance Heating, Cooling & Air Quality. We're always here to help our clients in the Broken Arrow area.

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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Why the Forced Air Furnace Is Still One of Your Best Heating Options

If the forced air furnace were a failure, like the Edsel, the revolving hammock or sauna hot pants, then it wouldn't be the most popular form of heating in the United States, warming more than 35 million homes when the weather turns brisk. Forced air furnaces have been dependable heating systems in North America for many years and remain a viable choice for your new Tulsa home or even as a replacement furnace.

How Forced-Air Systems Operate

The operation of a forced air furnace is fairly straightforward:

• The blower and heating burner or element respond to the demand of a programmable or non-programmable thermostat.

• Filtered room air travels through a series of vents and insulated ductwork to the furnace.

• Air is heated in a chamber inside the furnace called the heat exchanger.

• Heated air is "forced" from the heat exchanger via the furnace's blower back through the ductwork and out through the vents to warm individual rooms.

• Once the pre-determined temperature on the thermostat is reached, the furnace's heating coil or element and blower switch off and await the next demand.

Benefits of a Forced-Air Heating System

Forced air heating systems are understandably popular for a number of important reasons:

• Lower initial investment -- Forced air furnaces are widely available in different sizes to suit heating demands of large or small homes or buildings.

• Shared ductwork and vents for future A/C installation -- Ductwork and vents can be used in tandem with central air conditioning units.

• Availability of attic, basement or odd-shaped areas -- Furnace models are available that fit these unique installation requirements.

• Fast, efficient heating -- A forced air furnace blows heated air quickly throughout an entire house.

• Runs on a variety of fuels -- Forced air heating systems run on either electric, natural gas, propane or fuel oil.

Forced air furnaces are not noiseless systems, so the sound of a blower motor can be an issue.  Electric forced air heating systems are, however, less noisy than are gas or fuel oil burning furnaces.

For more information on forced air furnaces in Tulsa, contact our experts at Air Assurance.

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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Fall Furnace Inspection: Highly Recommended for Your Tulsa Home

Broken Arrow will soon see winter weather arriving in force, and if you haven't already scheduled your fall furnace inspection, now is a good time to do it. Your furnace works 24/7 throughout the winter to keep you comfortable, and over time it loses efficiency. Maintaining your furnace will lower your energy bills, increase system safety and efficiency, extend its life and help prevent common problems this winter. 

A comprehensive tune-up by a reputable company should include these key tasks:

• Lubricate the system to prevent damaging friction.

• Clean and inspect the blower assembly, heat exchanger and other essential components.

• Measure the voltage and current on the motor to ensure they meet system specifications.

• Test the burner combustion and gas pressure for safety and efficiency.

• Check for dangerous carbon monoxide leaks.

• Measure the flue gases to ensure they comply with system standards.

• Inspect the ventilation system for proper venting of combustion gases.

• Inspect your ductwork for obstructions and loose joints that can restrict airflow.

• Check your thermostat for accuracy and calibrate it if necessary.

• Inspect the wiring and terminals for corrosion, and apply a nonconductive coating.

Maintaining the efficiency of your system is essential for season-long comfort and savings. These tips will help you lessen the load on your furnace to keep it operating efficiently all winter long:

• Check your furnace's air filter every month. When it's caked with dust, replace it with a good-quality, pleated filter. A dirty filter restricts the air flow to your system and can cause overheating and expensive related damage.

• Reverse the direction of your ceiling fan blades to push warm air down and throughout your rooms, keeping you comfortable at lower thermostat settings.

• Seal around doors and windows with caulk and weatherstripping to keep warm air in and cold air out. The typical home loses up to 20 percent of conditioned air through leaky doors and windows.

If you would like to schedule your furnace inspection with one of our qualified technicians in the Broken Arrow area, please feel free to contact us at Air Assurance Heating, Air Conditioning & Plumbing.

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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). 

Image courtesy of Shutterstock