What Determines a Furnace’s Efficiency in Leonardtown, MD?
As temperatures plunge in Leonardtown, MD, you’ll need to use your furnace more and more. While comfort is important, you also don’t want to waste money on an inefficient furnace. Several factors go into determining how efficient your furnace is, and knowing them is an important part of saving money during heating season.
Furnace Efficiency Ratings
Every furnace comes with a numerical rating that provides information about how efficient it is. A furnace’s efficiency rating is the total heat that it expels over the course of a year, divided by how much energy it consumes. Put simply, furnace efficiency refers to the total percentage of the heat your furnace uses that actually goes to heating your home.
How to Find Out Your Furnace’s Efficiency Rating
Furnace manufacturers include this Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AUFE) rating on their furnaces. You can typically find this rating written on a bright yellow label located somewhere on the outside of your heating unit.
Since 2015, an AFUE rating of 80% or more has become the official industry standard though 99% of all furnaces sold as early as 2007 could already reach this bar. Today, only decades-old heating systems have AFUE ratings below 80%. The industry considers those with ratings of 90% or above to be especially high-efficiency devices.
What to Do If You Have a Low-Efficiency Furnace
Keeping a low-efficiency furnace will force you to needlessly overpay on heating bills. If the problem is that your current furnace has a low AFUE rating, the solution is to invest in a new furnace and schedule a professional installation.
On the other hand, if your furnace is relatively new but doesn’t operate efficiently, you should call for professional repairs. A malfunctioning component decreases your system’s performance and its efficiency.
To make sure you’re prepared and comfortable in Leonardtown, MD this fall, you should strive to get the best furnace you can for your home. For help, call Hancock Refrigeration Heating & Air Conditioning, ask for our furnace services and our team will get right on it.
Image provided by iStock