from Melanie in Trevor, WI:
#933
Yesterday we had a repairman do some work on our furnace which, from what we have been told, has seen better days. So he told us about Focus on Energy. Also we were told that we could get a new, energy efficient furnace. Is this the case? And where do we start?
Things to look for in a new furnace include...
Modern furnaces systems can achieve efficiencies from 92% to 98%, converting nearly all the fuel to useful heat for your home. A new high efficiency heating system with multi-stage firing and an ECM fan motor will cut your fuel bills and your furnace's pollution output.
Things to look for in a new furnace:
AFUE: The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) measures a furnace’s overall energy performance. The higher the AFUE, the more heat you get for your heating dollar. Focus recommends an AFUE of 90% or greater. This means that 90% of the energy in the fuel becomes heat for the home and the other 10% escapes up the chimney and elsewhere. The higher the AFUE the better.
Multi-stage Firing: Your furnace must have enough capacity to meet your heating needs on the coldest day of winter. However, for most of the heating season your furnace will have more heating capacity than you need.
Unlike a furnace with single-stage firing that is either firing at full output or completely off, a furnace with multi-stage firing can selectively turn some burners off when the full furnace output is not needed. Multi-stage firing gives you the right size furnace for the majority of the heating season, and a reserve capacity to meet additional heating needs on really cold days or to recover from a temperature setback period.
Variable-Speed Motor: Furnaces with a VSM, also known as an electronically commutated motor (ECM), have lower annual operating costs and can save you $80 to $380 per year depending on how you use the furnace fan. You will see the most savings if you run your new fan on "auto." Visit our page on fan use to find out more about saving money with your new furnace.
Start getting estimates and talk to your contractor about furnaces that meet the federal tax credits and Focus on Energy requirements, but you may want to hurry, the federal tax credits are set to end on December 31, 2010.
Published Thursday, December 09, 2010