Design Comfort Blog: Posts Tagged ‘Furnace Installation’

Start Saving Money with a High Efficiency Furnace

Monday, November 21st, 2016

The furnaces on the market today are all much more energy efficient than those on the market even just a decade ago. But that doesn’t mean that all of the current models are created the same. There’s still a pretty big difference between furnaces when it comes to efficiency as well as price. Therefore, you really need to know what you’re looking for if you want to get the best deal out there.

One of the most important factors you’ll want to keep in mind when selecting a new furnace is its efficiency. All furnace systems come with an AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating, which reflects just exactly how energy efficient they are.

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Electric or Gas: Choosing the Furnace That Is Right for You

Monday, November 14th, 2016

Natural gas-powered furnaces are among the most popular types of heaters in modern homes. In fact, many heating companies recommend them due to their low costs of operation and the effectiveness of their heating. However, an electric furnace is not a bad choice either. It has its own set of benefits that may fill your needs as a homeowner. Sometimes, and electric furnace may even be a better choice for you, such as in the scenarios we’ve listed below.

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New Furnace Installation: Should you go Gas or Electric?

Monday, September 19th, 2016

Although fall is coming in just a few days, it’s pretty hard to tell cooler temperatures are on their way around here! But sure enough, they are. Which means if you are considering a new heating system installation, now is the time to take action.

Furnaces are found in many homes throughout the country. This popular heating system is very efficient, particularly with the high efficient models on the market today. But what type of furnace is best for you? Should you go with a gas-powered system or would an electric furnace make more sense? Keep reading to learn more about each system and why one of them may be a better choice than the other for your particular needs.

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How Newer Furnaces Are Improving in Energy Efficiency

Monday, December 28th, 2015

How old is the gas furnace that’s currently keeping your home warm during cold weather? If it’s more than 15 years old, and especially if it’s more than 20, it is definitely time to consider having the unit replaced. This isn’t just a way to ward off a furnace having its final failure at an inconvenient (i.e. freezing) time: it’s a way to improve energy efficiency. Not only is an aging furnace going to require more power to produce heat, but newer furnaces have improvements that have made them more energy efficient than ever. Where the average AFUE rating (an annual energy efficiency measure) of gas furnaces was once 60%–80%, most furnaces score higher than this today—and some even score as high as 97%! That means a furnace that wastes only 3% of its fuel source.

How Do Newer Furnaces Achieve This Increase?

The basic answer is that furnaces are simply better made today than ever before, with improved materials making it easier for them to effectively transfer heat from their heat exchangers to the air. They have also changed over from using a standing pilot light that drains power even when the furnace isn’t on over to using electronic ignition systems, which are not only less drain on power but also more reliable.

There are some specifics that go into the special high-efficiency furnaces currently available. One of these is the second heat exchanger found inside condensing furnaces. The second heat exchanger captures the combustion gas vapor from the first exchanger that would otherwise end up vented outside and wasted. The second exchanger condenses the vapor and draws even more heat from it.

Many modern furnaces have special sealed combustion chambers, rather than the older style known as an atmospheric combustion chamber. A sealed chamber loses less heat to the outside when the burners ignite. As an added benefit, furnaces with sealed combustion chambers are safer and run quieter.

Finally, many newer gas furnaces have multi-stage burners and variable-speed blowers, which means they don’t have to operate at the same power level whenever they turn on. Instead, the furnaces modulate the burners and the blower capacities to match the needs of their homes and to reduce energy use.

Design Comfort offers heating replacement services in Millcreek, UT.

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Heating Installation Guide: Benefits of Replacing Your Furnace

Wednesday, January 11th, 2012

You are about to make one of the largest purchases in your life – a new furnace for your Salt Lake City home. Maybe your old furnace is on life support and needs immediate replacement or you are looking for a better, more efficient furnace that will raise the comfort level of your home while reducing utility bills and carbon emissions.

If the furnace in your basement, crawl space, or attic is 15-20 years old, it may be a single-stage 80% percent efficient model, which doesn’t meet the higher efficiency standards of today’s models. It uses more energy, i.e. gas, oil, or electricity, to operate. And a single-stage furnace does not always provide even heating to all rooms in the home, based on the varying winter weather conditions. There may be large temperature variations from room to room.

Your new furnace will likely be more efficient and environmentally friendly than the one it is replacing – which are the two biggest benefits to replacing an old furnace. So, let’s take a closer look at these benefits, which link energy efficiency to the latest technology – namely two-stage furnaces and variable speed motors.

Two-stage furnaces start out by running in a first stage, which uses less than 70% of its capacity. This stage works well on moderate winter days. On colder days, the furnace will meet your extra heating demand by adjusting to the second stage in the heating cycle. Since the furnace spends most of its time operating in its lower capacity (first or single stage), it burns less fuel than a traditional furnace that always runs at full capacity and then shuts off when heating demand is met. You will see lower utility bills and a shorter payback period on your new furnace investment.

Variable-speed motors can actually save you money on your energy bill as they consume less electricity than standard motors. Variable speed furnaces save you money by having a higher SEER rating. SEER is the abbreviation for seasonal energy efficiency ratio. The higher the SEER, the more energy efficient the unit. The low operating costs of a variable speed furnace can allow you to run your furnace blower. With the low operating costs of the variable-speed furnace you can constantly run your blower without the worry of driving up your utility bill, allowing for continuously filtered air.

And when you shop for a new furnace, look for add-on equipment such as electronic air filters, humidifers, and programmable thermostats. Each will raise the comfort level you will be enjoying from Salt Lake City home’s your new furnace.

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How Much Will a High Efficiency Furnace Save Me?

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011

The furnaces you can buy these days in Salt Lake City are all much more energy efficient than those available even 10 years ago. However, that doesn’t mean that all of the current models are created equal. There is still a pretty big variation when it comes to energy efficiency and when it comes to price, so you need to really know what you’re looking for if you want to get the best deal out there.

The first thing you should understand when you’re trying to pick out a furnace is how energy efficiency for this type of equipment it measured. All furnaces come with an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating that reflects just exactly how energy efficient they are.

Any furnace you buy today will have an AFUE of at least 80%, but it’s possible to purchase models with AFUEs of 97% or more. Of course, energy efficiency is generally a good thing, but there are some other things to consider when you’re trying to decide just how energy efficient you need your new furnace to be.

What this calculation really comes down to is how much you’ll be able to save monthly and annually with a higher efficiency furnace. While your heating bills will certainly be lower the higher the furnace’s efficiency is, you will also pay more up front for the highest efficiency models.

This higher purchase price may be worth it, however, if you live in an area with particularly harsh winters. If your heating load is very high and you’ll be using your furnace a lot, your monthly savings will make up for the higher initial price of the high efficiency furnace in a reasonable amount of time.

However, if you live in an area with relatively mild winters and you won’t be demanding a whole lot of your furnace, then the amount you’ll save each month with the highest efficiency models really won’t add up to much.

Keep in mind that a furnace with an 80% AFUE is still quite efficient and will almost certainly save you a considerable amount monthly when compared to the unit you’re currently using. And because 80% AFUE furnaces are so much cheaper than those with upper 90% AFUE ratings, they often wind up as the more cost effective alternative overall.

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