Furnaces
A furnace is a very most common type of home heating system. The blower motor pulls air from the living space through the return ducts, the air is heated as it passes over the heat exchanger, and the blower continues to push the warm air through the ducts and out of the vents in your home. So, a furnace is recirculating the air in your home and making it warmer every time it passes through the furnace.
Furnaces can use a variety of fuel sources. The most common is gas (natural or propane), electric (generally paired with a heat pump) and Oil.
Furnaces also come in a variety of efficiencies. Gas furnaces are either “Standard Efficient” or “High Efficient.” It’s pretty easy to tell which one you have. A Standard Efficient furnace has a stainless steel vent that connects to the chimney. A High Efficiency furnace has at least one, usually two PVC pipes connected to it that vent to the outside.
What is the difference between a standard efficient furnace and a high efficient furnace?
A standard efficient furnace is rated at 80% efficiency for gas and around 84% efficiency for oil. That means that for every $1 in gas, 80 cents is heating your home and 20 cents is going up the chimney (84/16 for oil).
A high efficiency furnace is rated usually between 92-97% efficiency. Most are 95% or above. This means your only losing 5 cents or less for every $1 you spend on gas or oil.
How efficient is an electric furnace?
Easy answer: An electric furnace is 100% efficient. There is no combustion and therefore all of the electricity used goes direction to heat.
More difficult answer: Electric heat varies a lot in terms of how efficiently it uses that electricity. An electric furnace is generally connected to a heat pump. A very efficient heat pump will give you $2-$3 worth of heat for every $1 you spend.
However, most heat pumps can’t heat your home on the coldest days. That’s why an electric furnace has an electric back up heat. This element heat, much like a toaster or a space heater would use. That part comes on when the heat pump can’t keep up. These are what we call “dumb heat.” They provide $1 worth of heat for every $1 you spend. Without a heat pump, an electric furnace is not very efficient.
At Valley Green Home Services, we install, repair, and maintain all types of furnaces. Whether your system is short-cycling, producing uneven heat, or making strange noises, we’ll get to the root of the issue and restore reliable performance.
Ready to replace? We’ll guide you toward options that include both standard and high-efficiency options that can help lower operating costs.
