High Efficiency is all the talk
Efficiency is in demand today. Whatever you do, you are expected to be highly efficient in it. Well, this is true with our home appliances as well. With the bills reaching the sky, the environmental issues and global warming, manufacturers are asked to make appliances that will not only serve their purpose well but will also be environment friendly and will be using the ever depleting resources, efficiently. Whether you buy a fridge or a television set or a furnace, efficiency is what you should be looking for. Let us look into the various aspects of the high efficiency furnace like venting, cost, installation, etc., in detail.
First, though, what is a high efficiency furnace? A high efficiency furnace is a furnace that is capable of converting almost 97 percent of the fuel into energy, wasting only the remaining 3 percent. This is a very good percentage of fuel being converted into energy considering the fact that the earlier furnaces had the capacity of converting only 60 percent of the fuel into energy, which means that 40 percent was wasted. This figure changed, with people manufacturing furnaces that used 80 percent of the fuel. However, there are several high efficiency gas furnaces and ultra efficiency furnaces that are available now. As they are very efficient in terms of fuel utilization, there will be plenty of benefits in replacing your old furnace with these new efficient ones. The below mentioned paragraphs will cover all the different aspects in detail.
High Efficiency Furnace Cost
There is a huge amount of cost involved in replacing your old furnace with a new efficient one. Approximately, the overall new furnace cost should be somewhere around $5500. However, the good news is that there will be probable savings of up to 35 percent per year in your bills. Replacing the old one will benefit the environment and your pocket, in the long run. The contractors will be able to give you the right estimate.
High Efficiency Furnace Reviews
As you know furnaces are huge and last up to 20 years at least. They are installed in all sorts of houses, big or small, in city or in the rural areas, etc. The gas furnaces are installed in different areas of the houses as well. All these particulars make it very difficult for reviewers to write about the furnace reviews based on the brands. Instead these reviews are written based on the relationship between the contractor of the furnace and the buyers. There are several online reviews that can be read and understood to know which are the best furnaces and what are their running costs per year. There are several magazines and guides too that contain the names of good brands and the contractors that provide the best quality service. These reviews, however, can quickly become outdated once some manufacturer introduces a new furnace.
High Efficiency Furnace Venting
In order to know about the high efficiency furnace venting, you will need to know how these furnace work. These furnaces use condensing process. This furnace has two heat exchangers that draw heat from the combustion gases. This makes the moisture in the gas to condense and at the same time, release heat that can be reused. The exhaust gases all cool down due to this procedure. They are then exhausted out through a sidewall that has a plastic pipe. This means, that there is no need for chimneys. This is how the high efficiency furnace exhaust works.
High Efficiency Furnace Installation
It is better to let the installation work be handled by the experts, who are the contractors, in this case. They are the certified installers. There are several considerations that will have to be seen to while installing a high efficiency furnace. Moreover, the furnaces are large and they need a lot of duct work which is better done by the expert. As the venting and exhaust work is also done in a different way, it is better to have this furnace be installed by the contractor. Based on your house and the furnace specifications, the installation will take place.
Best High Efficiency Furnace
As mentioned above, there cannot be a single best brand or manufacturer. However, there are several other considerations that make a furnace better than the others. The first thing to look for in a good furnace will be the Energy Star label. This label states the efficiency rating. The best furnace will have the efficiency rating of more than 90 percent. The next consideration is the price. It is better to get quotations from more than two contractors so that you can compare the prices, services offered and the warranty periods. This will make the decision easy to make. In order to have the best high efficiency furnace, you can get an electrostatic filter added to the furnace. This filter reduces dust and other harmful particles and improves the overall furnace efficiency. However, you will need to pay a little extra for this electrostatic filter installation.
As you can see from the above, a high efficiency furnace is a good option considering the global warming, environmental issues and the emission of greenhouse gases at an alarming rate. This will also be an energy saving device, meaning you will be able to save a lot on your bills too.