{"id":1055,"date":"2017-01-23T11:00:41","date_gmt":"2017-01-23T16:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/?p=1055"},"modified":"2017-01-19T13:47:45","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T18:47:45","slug":"high-afue-rating-new-furnace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/high-afue-rating-new-furnace\/","title":{"rendered":"Does a High AFUE Rating Guarantee I\u2019ll Save Money with a New Furnace?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Badges_Elements_Icons_1009934_61187394.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-1056\" src=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Badges_Elements_Icons_1009934_61187394-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"question-mark-badge\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Badges_Elements_Icons_1009934_61187394-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Badges_Elements_Icons_1009934_61187394-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/01\/Badges_Elements_Icons_1009934_61187394-1024x1024.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Planning for a <a href=\"\/heating\">new furnace installation in Plattsburgh, NY<\/a> means balancing out multiple factors to find the right furnace model to meet your home\u2019s heating needs. You probably already know about at least one important furnace stat: AFUE, which is the standardized measure for furnace energy efficiency. Does it make sense to purchase only a furnace with the highest AFUE rating you can find? Is that a guarantee you\u2019ll save money on heating your home in the future?<\/p>\n<h3>There\u2019s a Simple Answer\u2014But It Needs a Longer Explanation<\/h3>\n<p>The simple answer is: \u201cno.\u201d AFUE is not a guarantee you\u2019ll save money. AFUE is information about how the furnace performs, but it doesn\u2019t automatically mean the furnace will reduce household energy bills during the winter. We\u2019ll explain further how AFUE is measured and how it can affect your decision for furnace installation.<!--more--><\/p>\n<h3>AFUE = Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency<\/h3>\n<p>The AFUE rating is a percentage that indicates how efficient a furnace model is at converting the fuel supply into actual thermal energy. For example, a gas furnace with 90% AFUE will convert 100 units of natural gas into 90 units of heat, losing 10 units to exhaust. AFUE is measured over a year\u2019s performance, rather than a single test. This means that a furnace will at times work at lower or higher efficiency levels than its AFUE.<\/p>\n<h3>The Range of AFUE Ratings for Furnaces<\/h3>\n<p>What type of AFUE ratings can you expect from modern furnaces?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Older furnaces with standing pilot lights have AFUE ratings as low as 56% and as high as 70%. If you live in an older house that still has its original furnace (and you\u2019ll find plenty of these vintage homes in this area), it probably has an AFUE in this range\u2026 and it\u2019s time for an upgrade.<\/li>\n<li>Mid-efficiency furnaces that use electronic ignition and lighter heat exchangers have AFUE ratings between 80% and 85%. Chances are high this is the type of furnace you currently have.<\/li>\n<li>New high-efficiency furnaces that use sealed combustion and variable speed fans can score up to 98.5% AFUE. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.energystar.gov\/products\/heating_cooling\/furnaces\/key_product_criteria\" target=\"_blank\">In order for a gas furnace to earn the ENERGY STAR label from the Department of Energy<\/a>, it must have a minimum of 90% AFUE.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Why High AFUE Won\u2019t Necessarily Save Money<\/h3>\n<p>In order for a furnace to deliver on the promise of its efficiency rating, it must be correctly installed and sized for a house, and it must have a sealed ventilation system without leaks. A furnace that isn\u2019t matched to a home may be efficient at converting fuel to energy, but it will still use more energy than it should. A ventilation system that allows heat to escape through leaks in the ducts will also waste an immense amount of energy, and that will undercut even the highest efficiency rating.<\/p>\n<h3>Professionals Will Help You Find the Right Furnace<\/h3>\n<p>We mentioned earlier\u00a0that finding the balance of factors is key to a proper furnace installation. This is where you\u2019ll need professionals; they\u2019ll balance the energy efficiency of a new model with the specific heating needs of your house. They\u2019ll also help to ensure the ventilation system is in the best shape possible. <a href=\"\/contact\/contact\">You can trust to our team<\/a> to see that you end up with a furnace that will lower your bills while keeping your family warm.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/\">Look to Red Rock Mechanical LLC<\/a>\u2014Serving Northwest Vermont and Plattsburgh, NY area for over 23 years.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Does it make sense to purchase a furnace with the highest AFUE rating you can find? Is that a guarantee you\u2019ll save money on heating your home in the future?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[76],"tags":[122,120,91],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1055"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1055"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1055\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1059,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1055\/revisions\/1059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1055"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1055"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.redrockmechanical.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1055"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}