If you have a furnace in your house that’s more than 15 or even 20 years old, any replacement system will have a higher energy efficiency rating. This because standard for gas furnaces have changed dramatically over two decades, and even the new mid-efficiency models have a higher standard than the mid-efficiency models at the start of the 21st century.
If you upgrade to a new furnace at the end of this year’s heating season, you can expect energy-saving performance. And if you want a major efficiency upgrade, one of the best options is a condensing furnace. These furnaces score some of the highest AFUE ratings (efficiency ratings) of any heating system on the market, with as little waste as 2%.
The winter weather isn’t done with us, but the second half of the season is a good time to consider how well your home’s furnace has held up. This may be the last winter it can perform up to expectations. Or it may already have fallen behind this season. If you’ve spent more on 
When a furnace first turns on for the winter season, it emits a burning odor into the air from the vents. This is normal. It’s odor of the dust along the heat exchanger or heating elements burning off as the unit heats up. The smell will subside after a short time and the furnace will get into the regular groove of warming the house.
What sort of home appliance do you think is most likely to corrode? You’ll probably think of the water heater, or shower heads and other water-using fixtures. You probably don’t think about your gas furnace rusting. It doesn’t use water to warm your house, after all. It applies heat to the air through a metal heat exchanger that contains hot combustion gas.
When heating season starts (a.k.a. “winter”), your home’s furnace will get down to steady work. That means you’ll have the semi-regular job of keeping an eye on it. This isn’t an intense job, only a reminder to keep your senses open to any of the signs the furnace is in trouble—and to remember to change the furnace filter on a regular schedule.
How do you keep your home toasty during the cold winters in Vermont and New York? The majority of homes use natural gas furnaces, but there are many that rely on boilers, electric furnaces, in-floor radiant systems, heat pumps, and dual fuel systems. Our heating technicians work with all these types of 
It’s a nice feeling knowing you won’t need to turn your furnace back on for several months—it means the warm weather and summer have arrived. You’re coming closer to the day when you’ll turn off your home’s furnace and leave it off.
If the heating system in your home is still working the way it should during the last few cold days of spring, you can probably shut it down for the summer without much worry. As long as you remember to schedule maintenance for it in fall before the first cold settles in for the end of the year, you shouldn’t need further 
You probably know that the furnace in your house won’t last forever. Any type of machine that does as much work as a furnace during Vermont and New York winters will wear down to the point where it needs to be replaced.
Furnaces are found in more homes than any other type of central heating system. Ironically, they’re also not well understood by the average homeowner, and that’s probably because they are so common; they’re easy to take for granted.
