All good things they say must come to an end and that includes your home furnace. The average lifespan of a furnace is 20 years with proper maintenance. What do you do when your beloved heating system finally heats its last? You can’t just go looking for the same system you got 20 years ago.
20 years is a long time and many innovations in the home heating industry have taken place. So, to ensure you are up-to-date with the latest trends and enable you to get the best replacement, we’ve written this article just for you. Visit https://www.logan-inc.com/hvac/furnace-replacement/ to update yourself on some of these trends. We’ll reveal the things you need to consider when making your choice.
Failure to consider these factors can affect your home’s heating costs, energy efficiency, and comfort. Therefore, we advise that you read the article below carefully. Here are the factors:
Your Home’s Size
The size of your house plays a huge role when choosing a furnace. If you choose a small one, it might not effectively heat your house. This can cause your home to become cold, especially during winter.
On the other hand, if you choose a big one, it might end up consuming too much energy. This can increase energy costs. Trust us when we say you don’t want to deal with such huge heating bills monthly.
When we talk about home size and heating requirements, the focus is not only on the area size. You need to factor in how many rooms you have, windows, orientation of the home, and insulation level. To get the accurate size, you need the services of an HVAC professional who’ll calculate the heat load required.
Energy Efficiency
This factor could easily come in number one place of the things you need to consider. This is because energy efficiency is so important. You need a furnace that does its job effectively while saving you costs in the form of reduced energy bills.
The AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating is the standard used to measure energy efficiency for furnaces. When the AFUE rating of a system is high, this is an indication that the unit uses fewer energy sources but is still effectively generating heat and cutting costs on energy bills. On the other hand, when the AFUE rating is low, the system is less effective, and you get to spend more on energy bills.
Purchasing an energy-efficient furnace is usually more expensive. However, you’ll get to save money in the long run thanks to their effective energy-saving ability. When choosing a furnace, ensure that it has the ENERGY STAR label on it. This label indicates that the system meets and, in some cases, surpasses the efficiency standards set by the federal regulatory body.
Your Climate Region
Heating systems are needed the most during winter. If your region has colder winters, it’s advisable to get a furnace with a high AFUE rating. This will ensure that your home remains warm during the harsh winter.
On the other hand, if your region has mild winters, you do not necessarily need to invest in a unit with a high AFUE rating. You can make do with a system that has standard efficiency. This way, you get to spend less on the purchase, while enjoying reduced costs on energy bills in the long run.
Warranty
As we said at the beginning of the article, furnaces can last up to 20 years with proper maintenance. While not all manufacturers will offer that lengthy a warranty, a good number of them offer at least a 5-year warranty. This is usually for the general parts of the unit. On the other hand, certain parts might have special warranties.
Therefore, it is important to be sure of the warranty of the product you want to purchase. You can read this article to learn more about warranties. Ensure that you carefully read the terms of the warranty. You also need to compare the warranties of different products to give you an idea of the average warranty period for these products.
Noise Level
In case you didn’t know, furnaces can make noise. The noise level differs depending on the product you purchase. The quiet ones operate this way thanks to features like variable-speed motors, insulated cabinets, or sealed combustion.
If having a peaceful and quiet home is your priority, choose systems that make less noise. You can determine the system’s noise level by checking the dB (decibel) rating. If the decibel rating is low, the noise level will equally below.
Conclusion
Choosing a furnace replacement should be so difficult. All you need to make the right choice is an understanding of crucial factors. In this article, we’ve discussed important factors you must consider when replacing your home’s furnace system.
