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High-Efficiency Furnace

Install a High-Efficiency Furnace Near Rumson, Holmdel, Manasquan, Middletown, Howell, Brick, Colts Neck

Ask Dave Hoh's Home Comfort & Energy Experts to help you decide when it's time to switch to a new, high-efficiency furnace...it may make sense sooner than you would think. An existing furnace as little as 10 or 15 years old may be a candidate for replacement.

It makes sense to ditch your old furnace when:

Watch this video on the benefits of high-efficiency oil furnace replacement.

  • Its efficiency (AFUE) is less than 75 percent
  • It has a pilot light instead of electronic ignition
  • You have the option of switching from oil to gas
  • You plan to live in your home for more time than the life expectancy of your furnace
  • You've upgraded your home's insulation and sealed air leaks
  • Repair bills on the old unit have become more frequent
  • You'd like to add on to your home
  • You'd like to add central air conditioning

Tale of two furnaces

Tom and Sally have a furnace that's 15 years old. The service technician told them that its efficiency is 75 percent at best and that it might last another 5 years. The couple is thinking about replacing the old furnace with a high-efficiency model that has an AFUE of 90 percent without waiting for the old one to conk out.

What can Tom and Sally expect to save on their energy bill? About 17 percent according to energy.gov. They checked their energy bills and found they spend about $1200 annually on fuel. So, their savings would be about $200 per year.

If their furnace efficiency had been worse or if their fuel bills were higher, their savings would, of course, be greater. By waiting five years to install the new furnace, Tom and Sally would have the use of their money (or credit) longer - but they would have lost out on over $1000 in fuel savings.

In addition, they would not have had the peace of mind that comes with having a new furnace on frigid nights. In addition, they'd be lowering their carbon footprint sooner rather than later!

If you are tired of spending money on fixing your old, inefficient furnace, call us today for a free cost estimate on installing a new high-efficiency unit.

Furnace Basics

  • Furnaces are the most common heating appliance in the North America.
  • Fuels include oil, propane, natural gas, and electricity.
  • Furnaces heat air and to move it through ducts to rooms when heat is required.
  • Unlike boiler-based heating systems, furnaces can accommodate humidifiers, air filters, and AC coils.
  • Size, or output, is given in BTUs per hour or BTUs for short. BTU ratings vary depending upon climate and house construction.
  • Furnaces are sized based upon the design load, or the rate at which a building loses heat when the outside temperature is near its lowest point.
High efficiency furnace

A high-efficiency furnace can achieve up to 98.2 percent AFUE and save homeowners hundreds of dollars per year.

How high-efficiency furnaces achieve high AFUEs

High-efficiency furnaces have two heat exchangers instead of the one that conventional furnaces have. The primary heat exchanger extracts heat from the fuel-combustion chamber. A second heat exchanger extracts useful heat from flue gasses before they are vented to the outside.

In addition, high-efficiency furnaces can vary both heat output at the burner and warm-air delivery speed by the blower.

No longer will you have to suffer the discomfort of your rooms being either too cool while you're waiting for the temperature to drop low enough to trigger the thermostat -- or too warm while the burner and blower are running at full capacity. By automatically being able to adjust furnace output and blower speed to meet demand, optimum efficiencies can be achieved.

As a bonus, high-efficiency blower motors use about 65 percent less electricity than their conventional counterparts. Set on low, they may be used to move air through filters all year long, improving the quality of your indoor air.

Special furnace installation requirements

High-efficiency furnaces have two installation requirements that conventional furnaces do not. The first is fan-assisted venting through a non-corrosive flue. Flue gases are typically vented through an exterior wall via a plastic vent pipe. Or, they may be vented through the roof or an unused chimney if a chimney liner is installed.

The second is a condensate pump to remove the slightly acidic liquid that has condensed in the secondary heat exchanger, usually to a floor drain.

High-efficiency furnaces do not require outside air for combustion, but it's a good idea. Piping in combustion air (often done in a double-wall pipe that serves as a flue as well) will reduce the amount of outside air leaking into your home - and reduce your energy bills as well.

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