What should you look for in a new furnace?
The three most important factors to evaluate when you’re considering purchasing a new furnace are:
- Quality
- Efficiency
- Added Comfort Features.
Quality
Purchasing a brand name that has a reputation for quality and reliability can save you headaches and extra expense down the road.
Most furnaces sold today undergo a rigorous series of quality tests, many being performed on every unit, not just random samples. We back every furnace we install in writing, with a 20-year or more limited manufacturer’s warranty on the heat exchanger (the heart of the furnace) and a one-year limited manufacturer’s warranty on the entire unit. Extended warranties are also available.
We carry a wide range of brands including Bryant, Rheem, and Tempstar – all proven performers. Let us recommend the best company and the best unit for your particular situation.
Efficiency
A furnace’s efficiency rating, or AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency), tells you how efficiently your furnace uses fuel (gas or oil). In general, the higher the efficiency, the less fuel the furnace will use to heat your home.
In 1992, the government established the minimum AFUE rating for furnaces installed in new homes at 78%. In contrast, many furnaces manufactured before 1992 had AFUE ratings as low as 60%.
Mid-efficiency furnaces, also known as non-condensing or induced draft furnaces, offer efficiencies from 78% to about 80%. High-efficiency furnaces, called condensing or sealed combustion furnaces, offer AFUE ratings from 90% to about 96%.
Usually, the higher the efficiency, the more expensive the furnace. We can help you determine about how long it will take you to recover the additional cost in energy savings. Of course, after the payback, you continue to save on your energy bill for the life of the system.
Added Comfort Features
You can enhance your family’s comfort and health by installing a humidifier and/or an air cleaner (purifier) alongside your furnace. Especially when the heater is on in the winter, family members may have a difficult time breathing. Or, maybe, throughout the entire year, a family member suffers from allergies or respiratory problems. We have solutions for you:
Automatic Humidifiers
When you think of dryness, do you picture the arid, wind-whipped sands of the Sahara? The cracked, sun-baked earth of Death Valley? It may surprise you that there are places in this world that are twice as dry as those... One of the driest places on earth could be your home. And, it’s this "desert dryness" that makes you feel uncomfortable, robbing moisture from your home, your furnishings, even your skin.
Relative humidity is the percentage of moisture in the air compared to its maximum capability to hold moisture under the same conditions. 70 degree air, for example, can hold more than 12 times as much moisture as 10 degree air.
The recommended indoor relative humidity is 3 to 4 times the humidity in an average North American home in the winter. If you’re reaching these levels in your home, you could be exposing yourself and your family to the physical aggravations of dryness. In fact, doctors often mention dry air as one of the causes for nose, throat, and skin discomfort.
Unhumidified heated air also dries out the wood in your home, shrinking the framing around doors and windows. Gaps then occur, allowing cold air in, making your home less energy efficient. Dry air can also negatively affect your wood floors, walls, ceilings, musical instruments, and electronic equipment.
The Aprilaire and Honeywell systems we install adjust to ensure the optimum level of indoor humidification. They deliver up to 50% more moisture than other humidifiers for improved comfort, well-being, preservation, and energy savings. And because these systems distribute moisture as a pure water vapor, there are no water droplets or mist that can carry impurities, like minerals and bacteria.
Air Cleaners
At City Wide, we also install Air Cleaners, or purifiers. The brands we carry include Honeywell and Second Wind.
You want the best for your family. A comfortable home. Peace of mind. But, what about your home’s air? According to a study conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), indoor air can be more polluted than the air outdoors. And if your like most Americans, you spend up to 90 percent of each day indoors – and more than half that time at home. The EPA, in fact, has ranked indoor air pollution among the top five environmental risks to public health overall. And it’s a growing problem.
Today’s homes are often sealed tightly to conserve energy. Problem is, they can seal in pollutants, too. Mold, pollen, bacteria, dust mites, and other undesirables pervade virtually all indoor air, threatening your good health by:
- Aggravating your allergies
- Cutting your sleeping time
- Dirtying your drapes, walls, and carpets, and
- Decreasing the efficiency of your heating and cooling systems.
Fortunately, there’s a solution to many indoor air quality problems. The systems we install zap airborne germs, killing most germs before they re-circulate and they prevent mold spores from growing on your system’s cooling coils.
So, do battle with these invisible threats to your health and call us for an estimate today.
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