Spring Cleaning Furnace Tips
Spring cleaning is on all our minds – especially with the current state of things! Spring is a time to renew, refresh and revive the old, making it the perfect time to take a closer look at the appliances powering your home. Since we’re all starting to shake off the winter blues and take a look at our surroundings, we are encouraging our customers to take a deeper look at the current HVAC systems at play in their home!
There are multiple different classes of residential heating equipment recognized by the United States Department of Energy on the market, and there is no perfect way to heat or cool your home. The type of fuel you use, or system you buy is mostly up to preference, and based on the space you are dealing with. It’s a good rule of thumb to think about what resources are readily available to you in your home and consider where you live. Furnaces are typically classified by what they use as fuel to generate their heat.
The four common types of furnace are:
● Natural Gas: These furnaces have combustion chambers, which generates heat that travels through an exchanger, is picked up by fans and passed through your ducts. This is one of the most energy efficient ways of heating the home, which is why it is used in most American homes!
● Oil: These furnaces are less efficient than the natural gas furnace, but they are typically purchased with a lower cost up-front. These furnaces are found in colder areas of the United States, and in places where there could be no access to municipal gas lines.
● Electric: This furnace comes at a dramatically cheaper price than a gas or oil furnace, as it operates off of electricity. A compartment of heating elements warm as electricity passes over them, and a blower motor will distribute the air through ducts. These units show poor efficiency as it runs off of electricity and can be much more costly in the long run depending on the rate your electric bill is charged.
○ Heat pumps run off of electricity and can be a cost-effective way of supplementing any furnace system within the home.
● Propane: Yet another great option for anybody without access to a city gas line, or oil on their properties. It is a safe and effective option for anybody without access to the more commonly found heating units above!
Again, before buying a furnace, you should always consider the area you live in, the size of the furnace or the furnace capacity, and the customer reviews. You want to ensure you’re purchasing something that’s right for the area you reside in, but also something that’s capable of heating the size of home you have! We hope to be your first call if you have any questions about replacing your furnace, but if you’re looking to do some up-front research, we hope to start you in the right direction. If you have any questions about the type of furnace appropriate for your space or are just looking to assess the efficiency of the one you already have, give us a call!
