What's new in furnaces? . . . . Lots !

Let's start here!

First, there are THREE very important factors to consider,

First is "Size". The size is determined by the amount of heat needed

to heat your home or business. Natural gas and propane furnaces

are rated in btu's which stands for British Thermal Units.

The second factor is "Efficiency", which relates to how much of the

heat from the gas will actually gets transferred to the air in your house versus how much gets wasted up the flue or chimney.

And the third is "stage" or sometime called "speed". This is the largest change in our industry in 50 years! And recently, the new variable and modulating furnaces have hit the market. Scroll down to find out more!

Size

But first, let's start with size. You'll start hearing numbers

such as 100,000 btu, 80,000 btu and so forth.

These numbers relate to how large the furnace is and

how much gas it will burn. The larger your home

is, the larger the furnace. Our personnel at Manwill Plumbing have been trained to calculate how large

of furnace you need. Undersizing a furnace has it's obvious disadvantage, it will run constantly but not

keep the house warm. On the other hand, an oversized furnace will run very short cycles but burn a large amount of gas in each short cycles resulting in higher heating bills and excessive high and low temperatures in the house, making your home very uncomfortable. A properly sized furnace will save you money on gas, plus assure you of the personal comfort you expect!

Efficiency

Now we have to consider the efficiency. You'll soon become familiar with efficiency ratings such as 80%, 90% and up to 96% fuel efficiency. The best way to describe the fuel efficiency is, if you purchase $100.00 worth of gas, with an 80% efficient furnace you would receive $80.00 of the heat generated by the gas into you home and would be loosing the remaining $20.00 up the flue or chimney. The same calculation for a higher efficient furnace. Purchase $100 of gas, with a 95% efficient furnace you would get $95.00 of heat into your home and only loose $5.00 of heat out the flue.

Many of the older furnaces built prior to 1990 are even lower efficient. Some are as low as 50% efficient although the majority of the older furnaces are 65 to 70% efficient.

When sizing a furnace, we look to see how much heat is actually transferred into your home. To do this, you calculate the input rating on the furnace by the efficiency. For example: a 25 year old furnace, 100,000 btu with a fuel efficiency of 65% will put 65,000 btu's into your home, (100,000 x .65 = 65,000 output). In this case, you could replace that furnace with a 70,000 btu (considerably smaller than the previous 100,000 btu furnace) with a fuel efficiency of 95% and actually put more heat into the house! 70,000 x .95 = 66,500 btu! Now you can burn 30% less gas and still provide the same amount of heat to your home! Keeping warm and comfortable while preserving our environment and your pocketbook!

2 Stage Furnace

Probably the greatest advance in home heating comfort is the two-stage furnace. To understand the two-stage furnace, we must first understand what is meant by stages. Furnace stages are sometimes confused with blower speeds. Even though the blower changes speeds, the stages really relates to the burn rate of gas, or BTU's. For example, a furnace with a maximum burner capacity of 100,000 Btu, with a single-stage furnace, every time the furnace turns on, it will burn at 100 percent of the maximum burn rate, 100,000 Btu's, just like your old furnace, it's either "on" or "off," nothing in-between. The single-stage furnace generally creates a wide "temperature swing" within a heating cycle. A temperature swing is when the furnace may turn on at 70 degrees and shut off at 73 degrees, a 3-degree temperature swing. If you feel your home gets too cold before the furnace turns on and too warm when it shuts off, you have too wide of temperature swing.With a two-stage furnace, there is an "in-between." The same furnace with a maximum burner

capacity of 100,000 Btu will first turn on at approximately 60 percent of maximum capacity, 60,000 Btu, the first stage. The lower burner rate, and a lower blower speed allow the house to warm up a little slower, which creates better air circulation and a more even temperature throughout the house with a lower temperature swing. When the outdoor temperature really gets cold and your home requires more heat, the furnace will automatically turn up to the second stage, in this case 100,000 Btu, providing even more heat and a higher air flow to properly heat your house on those cold winter days. It's estimated that a two-stage furnace will run on the first stage over 80 percent of the time.

Compare a two-stage furnace to the gas pedal on your car. For better economy and comfort, you seldom push the gas pedal all the way to the floor, usually just enough gas for the power you need. Think of this as the first stage. When passing another car, climbing a hill, or whenever

you need to push the gas pedal all the way to the floor, think of this as second stage. This makes it easier to understand. The first stage in milder temperatures and the second stage for those few times when our outdoor temperature really gets chilly. Two-stage furnaces are available in both 80% and 95% efficient furnaces.

Modulating Furnace

Similar to a 2 stage furnace, a modulating furnace will vary the amount of gas burned or heat produced depending on the outdoor temperature. Unlike a 2 stage furnace that has just 2 different burner settings, a high and a low, a modulating furnace can vary the amount of gas going into the furnace from a very low amount of heat to the full BTU rating of the furnace, and everything in between. Just like a gas pedal in a car, it can vary the amount of power, or heat in this case, is needed. This results in the very best in comfort! Available in both 80% and 95% efficient furnaces.

Variable Speed Furnace

Variable-speed furnaces have the same features as a two stage furnace with the added benefit of a variable speed blower motor. Variable-speed furnaces utilize a DC voltage (direct current) motor versus an AC voltage (alternating current) motor. DC motors are much more economical to operate and also quieter. A typical DC motor can run 24 hours a day, 30 days a month for less than $10.00. This is very beneficial to those in need of constant air circulation. An example would be a home where room temperatures vary from one room to another. A constant blower will help mix the cooler air from one room with the warmer air from another room, creating more even temperatures throughout the house. Another example is a condition where the customer needs better air filtration or humidification. The constant blower can work in conjunction with a humidifier or electronic air filter to constantly be cleaning the air and maintain a constant moisture level in the house.

Note: humidifiers and air filters are accessories designed for all furnaces, not limited to just variable-speed furnaces.