A gas furnace that’s more than 10 years old can be functioning perfectly but only working at 65% efficiency.
With the newest technology available, gas furnaces can operate at over 94% efficiency. This means that by upgrading from a 65% efficient gas furnace to a 96% gas furnace, you’ll drop your gas bill by 31% just by doing that alone!
The experts at Pipe Works Services can provide you with a quality gas furnace installation or replacement.
What does “efficiency rating” mean?
A furnace boiler or water heater burns fuel to generate heat and needs to put that heat into an air stream in your ducts, or into the water in your pipes. The efficiency rating is what percentage of that heat gets into your air or water. What happens to the rest of the heat? It goes up the chimney and is lost into the sky. Therefore, a 15-year-old furnace that is 65% efficient is putting 35% of the heat you paid for up the chimney. A 96% efficient furnace only “wastes” 4%! A big difference!
- BTU Output: The heat output of a furnace is listed in thousands of btus (80,000btu, for example) and denotes the amount of heat energy the furnace can produce.
- Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency: A standard measure of efficiency for furnaces, AFUE tells you the percentage of input energy the furnace can convert to output energy for warming your home.
- Configuration: A “high-boy” furnace is a tall model with a blower located under the heat exchanger. A “low-boy” furnace has the blower in the back of the heat exchanger, making it shorter.
- Combustion: Both “sealed combustion” and “atmospheric combustion” furnaces are available. Differences between the two types are discussed below.
Sealed-combustion furnaces are super-efficient
A sealed-combustion furnace is so named because the combustion chamber is sealed to have more control over the combustion process. The air required for combustion is piped to the combustion chamber from outside the house, through a small-diameter plastic pipe. Gasses that result from combustion are also vented outside through a plastic pipe, with assistance from a small fan. This type of furnace is also sometimes called a “direct vent” because it can be vented through an exterior wall. No chimney is necessary.
Sealed-combustion furnaces are super-efficient, earning AFUE ratings of 90% or higher. Nearly all the heat potential of the fuel is extracted, making flue gasses cool enough to be passed through a plastic exhaust pipe. A small amount of water results during the heat condensing cycle, & this condensate is typically piped to a floor drain.
Start saving energy and money with a furnace upgrade
If you’re interested in upgrading your home’s heating performance and efficiency, Pipe Works Services is the local expert you need. We provide quality furnace installation and replacement services in Chatham, Madison, Summit, Union, Short Hills, Basking Ridge, Florham Park, Millburn, Clifton, Somerset, and the surrounding areas.
Call us today at (973) 657-5771 or contact us online to get a free quote today!