High Efficiency Gas Furnaces
High efficiency gas furnace can lower your heating bills throughout the coldest of winters. Below, let’s talk about what makes a furnace proficient at saving energy and the upgraded components engineered into the newer models.
Like so many things, furnaces today are more efficient than the systems that were available even five years ago. The newer units are designed with the latest technology, have upgraded features and convert more of the fuel source into heated energy.
Older furnaces use a gas-powered pilot light while today’s furnaces have a built-in electronic ignition. Electronic ignitions only ignite when the furnace fires up, which is more energy-efficient than a constant flame.
Temperatures in New Mexico can vary significantly from one day to the next. Having a high efficiency gas furnaces, that comes with two stage heating, is absolutely beneficial to keeping heating costs down. The first stage, which runs the majority of the time, uses less energy. The second stage only locks in when it’s extremely cold outside.
A high efficiency gas furnace, with an AFUE rating above 90 percent, is usually a condensing furnace. A condensing furnace has a second heat exchanger that extracts heat from the exhaust gasses. In lesser efficient units these gasses would be vented outside. In other words, condensing furnaces can do more with less fuel.
The variable speed blower works similarly to two-stage heating. It circulates the air into the ductwork, through the vents and back into the rooms. The variable speed blower motor operates at different speeds to precisely control the amount of airflow directed throughout the house.
Another improvement to high-efficiency furnaces is a second heat exchanger, which takes the exhaust gases from the first exchanger and runs it through condensation in order to extract more heat from it. Older furnaces simply vent away these gases, while a condensing furnace draws more thermal energy out of it.
If you have any questions about a high efficiency gas furnace, or if you’d like a heating system serviced or installed in your home, contact Polar Heating and Refrigeration at (505) 250-2329.