Going Green With Your Furnace

About Me
The Importance Of HVAC System Efficiency

Having the right heating and cooling system in a home or business can have a huge impact on the energy costs associated with HVAC systems. Units that are too large or too small are unable to properly heat or cool a building at maximum efficiency. Hello, my name is Roland, and if you're interested in learning everything you can about HVAC systems, you'll find the information you need in this blog. I belong to an environmental organization that helps homeowners and business owners learn how to reduce their energy costs. Our organization helps people save money on their energy bills, and while doing so, this also helps the planet. I've written this blog to help others learn about HVAC systems and how qualified HVAC contractors can help them save money and help the environment.

Going Green With Your Furnace

4 December 2019
 Categories: , Blog

Ready to replace your old, inefficient furnace? Whether you're installing a new furnace because your old one has failed or because you're ready for an upgrade, it will pay to go green for your new purchase. Of course, "green" gets tossed around a lot, so it can be confusing to understand precisely what it means and how your furnace purchase can help you to be a better environmental steward. Luckily, it doesn't have to be difficult to choose a furnace that will benefit both the environment and your wallet.

The Benefits of Going Green

When it comes to heating your home, being a good eco-citizen is all about achieving the most by using the least amount of energy. The more energy your furnace can turn directly into heat, the less energy you will use to keep your home livable throughout the winter. You can help to reduce your energy usage by turning the thermostat down, but efficiency begins by choosing the right furnace. Higher efficiency and less energy usage also lead to lower utility bills, so a green furnace has the added benefit of keeping more money in your pocket.

Understanding Energy Efficiency

A gas furnace produces heat by burning fuel. Unfortunately, this combustion process produces dangerous exhaust gases. Since these gases cannot be expelled safely into your home, it is not possible to directly utilize the combustion heat to warm your home. Instead, exhaust gases travel through a heat exchanger that transfers heat to the surrounding air. This process allows the exhaust fumes to remain contained, but it means that less than 100% of the generated heat makes its way into your home. The remainder enters the outside atmosphere along with the exhaust gases.

To measure the efficiency of this process, furnaces are given an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating. A furnace with an 80% AFUE (known as a standard-efficiency furnace) turns 80% of its fuel into heat for your home and exhausts the other 20% to the outside atmosphere. While this may seem wasteful, this is still a drastic improvement over furnaces that are several decades old. These older furnaces may have had fuel efficiency ratings as low as 60%.

Making the Right Choice

If you want to be as environmentally conscious as possible with your new furnace installation, then choosing a high-efficiency unit is often the way to go. These furnaces offer AFUE ratings of 97% or greater, meaning that the vast majority of fuel used in the furnace is turned into useful heat for your home. These units are often more expensive than standard-efficiency furnaces, however, so it may take some time to recoup your initial costs in reduced utility bills. Discussing your full range of options with a furnace installation technician is a great way to start. You can select a unit that is environmentally friendly without breaking the bank.