This post is the third in a four part series on high efficiency gas furnaces. If you haven’t read parts 1 and 2 yet, I recommend you do before continuing.

Energy Star

Energy Star is a program run by the US Government through the EPA. The mission of the Energy Star program is to ensure consumers have access to unbiased efficiency information that they can easily compare from one appliance to another. The aim of the program is twofold, as they explain on their website, “…since 1992, ENERGY STAR and its partners have helped save American families and businesses $430 billion on their energy bills—while also achieving broad emissions reductions—all through voluntary action.” (1) Energy Star labels are used on all sorts of appliances, from furnaces to water heaters to ovens.

How efficient are high efficiency gas furnaces?

By the early 90s, furnaces had improved considerably in efficiency compared with their counterparts from earlier in the century. Around this time, many jurisdictions in the US began to mandate that any new furnace sold had to have an AFUE rating of 80% or better. This legislation established the standard for years to come, and all of the furnace companies started selling 80% furnaces. If your furnace is old but not ancient, chances are it’s a 80% AFUE furnace. Nowadays, we call these furnaces standard efficiency.

High efficiency gas furnaces, on the other hand, have AFUE scores of 90% or better, and the majority of them have scores of 95% or better. One great option that the pros at Polar HVAC recommend is the The Goodman GMVM97 Modulating Variable-Speed ECM gas furnace, which boasts up to 98% AFUE performance. The GMVM97 is Energy Star rated, features an ultra quiet variable speed blower, and comes with a great warranty!

Check back soon for High efficiency gas furnaces – less pollution, more heat, part 4! In the meantime, check out our page on high efficiency gas furnaces.

Source cited:

1 – https://www.energystar.gov/about