Most homeowners in Orlando, and elsewhere, don’t look at heating replacement as an opportunity, but it is on several levels. One way replacing a failing heating system is a great opportunity is by increasing your energy efficiency. It stands to reason that if you are replacing a heating system that is 10+ years old, there’s no doubt you will increase your home energy efficiency simply by purchasing and using an updated heating system. But if you really want to know just how efficient a particular furnace or boiler system will be in your home, the best thing to look at is the AFUE rating.
Why Does the AFUE Rating Matter?
AFUE stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency, and it tells you, in a percentage, how efficiently a particular furnace or boiler will use the fuel it needs to operate. Every furnace or boiler made needs to work at a minimum AFUE, which is 78%, but many heaters have AFUE ratings over 90%. So what does this boil down to in layman’s terms? Let’s say you are looking at a gas furnace with an AFUE of 92%. What this means is that this gas furnace will use 92% of the fuel it is provided to create heat for your home; the other 8% of the fuel will be lost to combustion byproducts. Knowing these numbers can help you determine with good accuracy your annual heating costs.
What AFUE Does Not Mean
Many time, the meaning of AFUE can be a bit skewed. Let’s say you are looking at that same model of furnace as mentioned above, but it is a lower efficiency model with an AFUE of 85%. The model with the lower AFUE isn’t less capable of heating your home; it will heat it the same as the furnace with the higher AFUE rating, but the furnace with the lower AFUE rating will heat your home using more fuel. This is important to keep in mind when installing a new heating system.
Have questions about AFUE? The experts from Downtown Air and Heat are more than happy to help you – just give us a call!
