If your heating equipment is aging or struggled to get you through last winter, now’s the time to look into upgrading to a new heating system. It takes time to fully research your options, and if you get started now, you’ll have plenty of time to finish your shopping and have your new furnace installed before the arrival of heating season.
Your New Heating System: A Research Guide
Furnace size, efficiency and system features are the three most important considerations to make when shopping for a new heating system. Here is what you should look for in each case:
- Sizing your new heating system. This is far more complex than most people realize, and there’s a lot more to sizing your heating system than simply considering your home’s square footage. You also need to consider its layout, the condition of its ductwork, its airtightness and insulation, and home occupancy patterns. It’s best to consult a pro to make sure you don’t oversize or undersize your new equipment.
- Furnace efficiency. Annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE, is the single most important efficiency measurement. This metric specifies how much energy input is converted into heat output. Higher is always better. As a general rule of thumb, look for AFUE ratings of 90 percent or higher, and check to make sure your new heating equipment is Energy Star certified. High-efficiency furnaces come with higher upfront costs, but provide sustained savings over their lifespan that make them well worth the extra investment.
- Special heating system features. Efficiency can be boosted by a wide range of furnace features, including efficient ignition systems, variable-speed blowers, variable heat output, dual heat exchangers and electrostatic air filtration.
You can further optimize the efficiency of your new heating equipment by creating a zoning system for your home, and controlling each zone with a programmable thermostat.
If you have any questions about selecting a new heating system, or if you would like to schedule a professional heating load calculation to ensure your new furnace is properly sized, please contact us today at Marsh Heating & Air Conditioning.
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Our goal is to help educate our customers in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heating systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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