Tips For Buying A New Furnace
The majority of people have a furnace in their home to keep it comfortable and warm! Of course, furnaces are a long-term investment rather than a short-term purchase. Part of this is because a furnace can operate for decades after being installed.
You have many options for buying a new furnace, including an electric furnace as well as a gas furnace. There are even oil furnaces and wood furnaces! However, you also have other factors, including the upfront new furnace cost as well as the operating cost. Thankfully, there are easy tips that will help you buy the best new furnace. Once you have these tips in mind, you will be ready to search for new furnace deals!
Compare The Fuel Source Options
You need to compare the fuel source options when you are buying a new furnace. A variety of fuels are available for furnaces that heat your home. Examples include gas, oil, and electricity! Taking the time to compare the fuel source options allows you to consider the efficiency and reliability of each furnace and their fuel type. In many cases, gas is the preferred fuel source. If gas is available as fuel, you should strongly consider a gas furnace. Gas is cheap, reliable, and represents one of the most cost-effective fuels for heating a home.
If gas is unavailable, an oil furnace should be your next choice. Oil furnaces are efficient but are messier and require more maintenance than a gas furnace. You should only consider an electric furnace if oil or gas is not available as a fuel source. Electric heating is not as cost-effective as gas or oil. Thus, electric furnaces generally cost the most to operate. However, electric furnaces have the greatest reliability and fewest components of each fuel type!
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Determine A Budget
One of the vital parts of buying a new furnace is to determine a budget. You should first determine the maximum amount you can afford to spend on a furnace. Knowing the upper limit of a furnace purchase helps you avoid costs that are too expensive for as well as over-purchasing and buying a furnace that is excessive for your needs. Determining what your budget is also narrows your choices so that the rest of your research is not overwhelming. Once you have a sense of the models that are available in your price range, you can begin to compare furnace features, such as the size of home the furnace is capable of heating, cost of operation, and reliability.
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Consider Furnace Efficiency
You should consider furnace efficiency as a part of the buying process, including how much it will cost to operate! When considering furnace efficiency, you should examine the AFUE rating of the furnace. This rating represents a comparison between the total heat produced by the furnace versus the total heat consumed. Examine the AFUE rating when you are considering gas and oil furnaces! If you are considering an electric furnace, efficiency ratings will all be roughly equal and around ninety-five percent or higher. Electric furnaces are extremely efficient. However, the cost of electricity makes these furnaces the most expensive to operate.
For gas and oil, you should choose a furnace with an AFUE rating appropriate to their climate. If you are in a very cold climate, look for an AFUE rating of ninety percent or higher. You can purchase a cheaper furnace with an AFUE rating of eighty percent or higher if you are in a milder area! The difference between an eighty percent AFUE rating and a ninety percent rating may not seem like much. However, purchasing a lower-efficiency furnace in a very cold climate will drastically increase the amount of fuel the furnace uses compared to the higher-efficiency model!
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Consider Zoning Systems
A new furnace can drastically increase the efficiency of heating your home. Of course, there is only so much you can gain while heat is wasted on parts of your home that are unoccupied! Thus, you should consider zoning systems alongside your new furnace purchase. Zoning systems allow you to set different zones in your home that each have a different temperature setting! You can do this through motorized baffles installed in your home’s ductwork that direct warm or cold air to specific zones.
For example, you can set the bottom floor of your home to be heated during the day, when it is occupied. At night, you can set the top floor to a higher heat after you have moved upstairs to a bedroom. This means that the furnace consumes less energy to achieve the desired temperature. This drastically boosts the efficiency of your furnace! In addition, many customers find that zoning systems are cheap to purchase and install and require only minor modification of their home’s ductwork.
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Remember Installation And Maintenance
On average, new furnaces are significantly more reliable than their earlier forerunners. However, every furnace will eventually require maintenance! Thus, try to remember installation and maintenance costs when you are selecting your furnace. Modern furnaces are complicated, expensive investments. While do-it-yourself furnace installations are becoming more common, hiring a professional to install a new furnace is a wise way to protect your new investment. An HVAC professional will guarantee their work and iron out the minor problems that can appear with any new furnace installation!
Similarly, regular furnace inspections by a trained professional are a cheap and effective way to ensure the reliability and longevity of a furnace. Of course, you should have your furnace inspected at least once every two years. Regular maintenance and professional installation are the best methods for keeping the operating costs of a new furnace low!