If you use an old gas furnace for your household heating in Madera, CA, have you started to consider getting a replacement? We recommend replacing any aging heating system before it starts to go into a decline. It’s not a good idea to let a furnace run and run until it fails. This is not only inconvenient (nobody wants to have to scramble to replace a dead furnace in the middle of winter), it also means the furnace will waste more and more energy during its final downward spiral.
There are other reasons to go ahead and replace an aging furnace while it’s still (outwardly) working okay. Newer furnaces contain several improvements that can help you enjoy better performance and energy efficiency with your home heating than ever before.
Below are several ways modern furnaces conserve energy. Not all furnaces have these same additions: ask our technicians about the different options available.
Electronic ignition systems
This furnace improvement is one almost all modern units have. It replaces the standing pilot light that was standard for igniting furnace burners for decades. Where a standing pilot light consumes power throughout the season, whether the furnace runs or not, an electronic igniter only uses power for the moments when it needs to light the burners.
Sealed combustion
If you can look inside your furnace when it’s running and see the blue light from the burner flames, it’s an atmospheric combustion furnace. The new sealed combustion furnaces have the burners sealed off from the house and instead draw the air necessary to combust the natural gas through a PVC pipe to the outside. Not only does this prevent the furnace from drying out the air in the house, it prevents heat loss during combustion to save energy.
Second exchanger (condensing furnace)
A popular model of contemporary furnace is the condensing furnace. This type of heating system has two sets of heat exchangers. After the combustion gas in the first heat exchanger cools down, the remaining vapor enters a second exchanger rather than escape up a flue. The vapor is condensed in this exchanger, which draws even more heat from the natural gas. Condensing gas furnaces have some of the higher AFUE (efficiency) ratings available, up to 98.5% AFUE.
Variable speed fan
In a standard HVAC system, the blower fan sending air through the furnace and the ventilation system of the house only runs at a single speed. It’s either on or its off. A variable speed fan, driven by inverter technology, can modulate how powerfully it works and change the fan speed depending on the comfort requirements of the house. In fact, 60% of the time it will run at a capacity lower than maximum, which cuts down on energy bills. The modulating also creates more even heating through the house, reducing hot and cold spots and temperature swings.
We are glad to help you find the best new furnace for your house with the features you want.
Call Purl’s Sheet Metal & Air Conditioning for all your heating service needs in the Central Valley. “Quality Is the Cornerstone of Our Success” since 1952.