If your furnace is starting to reach the end of its life, it’s time for you to start thinking about making an upgrade. Of course, if your furnace lasted as long as it was expected to, that means it’s probably been a long time since you had to research furnaces, and the market has evolved significantly in that time.
For this reason, it’s important to get your bearings on the current state of the market. Here’s an overview to help you with understanding the types of furnaces you can find in Visalia, CA and some of the most important factors to consider in your search.
Important differences
There are a few important differences for you to know about in the various types of furnaces that influence how they operate.
First, furnaces generate heat in different ways. Some are single-phase furnaces that create as much heat as possible. Others are two-phase furnaces that provide you with a bit more control over the amount of heat they create.
For the most part, older furnaces will all be single-phase furnaces, meaning they generate the maximum amount of heat at all times. This makes the furnaces more affordable, but it doesn’t necessarily create the most comfortable results in your home. Two-phase furnaces may cost you more money up front, but they will offer greater efficiency (more than 95 percent annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE).
The huge difference in efficiency is because of the way the furnaces operate. Furnaces tend to be most efficient after they’ve warmed up and operated for an extended time, which is why oversized furnaces are not as efficient as furnaces that are the proper size for your home. With single-phase furnaces, the furnace will turn on, warm the house and turn off, while two-phase furnaces come on at maximum power to warm your space during the coolest part of the day, then remain running at a low-level heat output to keep the heat within the proper range.
The second main difference in furnaces the functionality of the blowers. The blower pushes the heat throughout your home through your ducts. Some furnaces run the blowers at full speed, while others might run at variable speeds. The type of functionality will affect efficiency and comfort during use.
Furnaces that always run at the same power level and speed are standard furnaces, but some modern units have blowers that provide you with greater control over that speed. Therefore, if your house only needed a little increase in warmth, the blower turns on at a slower rate, which uses less electricity and helps to create a more comfortable home. Those variable-speed blowers are able to last for a longer time than single-speed blowers because they do not see as much wear and tear. They’ll also save you a great deal of money over their lifespan because of the reduced energy consumption.
For more information about choosing a furnace that meets your needs in Visalia, CA, contact McGee Refrigeration to speak with an HVAC contractor.