Buying a New Furnace is an Important Purchase
Looking for a furnace replacement could be one of the more demanding processes you go through as a homeowner, and it’s also an important one. Long Island winters are long and cold, and heating your home takes a substantial piece out of your budget. Continue reading “Need a Furnace Replacement for Your New York Residence? Do Your Homework”
Learn How New Furnaces Can Save You Money
If you’re in the market for a new heating system for your Long Island home, consider a condensing furnace.
While furnaces older than 10 years have an annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE, of only 65 percent at best, the new condensing furnaces on the market have an AFUE of more than 98 percent, meaning that at least 98 percent of the fuel used to operate the system is converted to heat for your home. The remaining 2 percent or less is vented outdoors.
So what makes a condensing furnace so fuel-efficient? It starts with a duel heat exchanger. In a conventional furnace, which has one fuel-driven heat exchanger, the exhaust gases left after heating the air are sent up the chimney. The condensing furnace features a secondary heat exchanger which recovers this exhaust and uses it to heat more air for your home, reducing waste and increasing the unit’s energy efficiency exponentially. The end result is considerable savings on your energy bills.
Condensing furnaces have other features that add to their efficiency, including:
For more expert advice about whether a condensing furnace is right for your home heating needs, please feel free to contact us at T. F. O’Brien Cooling & Heating. We’ve served Long Island for over 75 years with a high level of customer satisfaction.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Image via Shutterstock.com
A New Furnace Could Save You Money in the Long RunToday’s premium furnaces offer a wealth of useful innovations. Among models in a similar price bracket and with a similar Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE), it’s the features and extras that create a stand-out product. Knowing which high-performance enhancements to look for can mean the difference between an acceptable purchase and a great one. Continue reading “Shopping For A Furnace? Take A Look At These High-Performance Features”
How to Determine If Your Furnace Needs Repairs
Your furnace is bound to get a workout as it keeps you warm through the cold Long Island winters, so now is the time to queue your ears and eyes to signs of trouble to keep it in good working order. Continue reading “You’ll Know If It’s Time To Repair Your Furnace When You Learn What To Look And Listen For”
Need a New Heating System Now? Here’s Some First Steps to TakeIf your heating equipment suddenly stopped working during a cold Long Island winter, would you know what to do? A good heating and cooling contractor can help you explore your options. Use T.F. O’Brien’s furnace replacement guide to get started, and then give us a call. Continue reading “Unexpected Heating Equipment Failure? Not Sure What To Do? Use T.F. O’Brien’s Replacement Steps”
Critical Thinking Can Help You Make a Wise DecisionWhen purchasing a major appliance, such as a heating system, there are upfront costs and there are lifetime costs to consider. Upfront costs are the price of the equipment along with installation. Lifetime costs involve both upfront costs and the costs to maintain the equipment, fuel costs and other factors. Continue reading “Do You Know How Lifetime Costs Impact Your Heating System Purchase?”
Furnaces have come a long way in the past 15 years. Systems that were once gas guzzlers have become vastly more efficient, saving you money on your heating bills.
Every furnace has a rating based on the unit’s annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE. A furnace’s AFUE is the percentage of heat created compared to the amount of energy used.
Numbers that used to hover between 60 to 70 percent have become dramatically higher over the past decade. As of now, it is not uncommon to find new furnaces that break the 95 percent mark.
It is for this reason that high efficiency furnaces are a good investment. When a new furnace is properly sized for the area of your house, Your heating bills can drop in half, according to the Department of Energy, with a new furnace.
Here are some tips on deciding whether or not to upgrade to one of these new, high efficiency furnaces.
Finding a contractor you can trust is the most important task when installing high efficiency furnaces.Energy costs are rising, but technology has found ways to help us save money. High efficiency furnaces are just one example. If you have any questions, feel free to contact the professionals at T.F. O’Brien. They are more than happy to help.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about high efficiency furnaces and other HVAC topics, click here to download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
T.F. O’Brien services the Long Island, New York area. To get started, get a quote from us or check out our special offers.
When we talk about furnaces, which is apt to happen this time of year, you hear the word “coefficiency” a lot. The value of having and maintaining high efficiency furnaces is clear; they function longer and cost less.
However, even the highest efficiency furnace comes with the same potential issue many heating and cooling mechanisms have: how to manage the excess water that results from normal furnace operation. As water continues to rise and fill the pan, it doesn’t take long to realize this could really cause problems for the furnace, and the home.
A few options:
Purchasing a new furnace can be costly and unnecessary if excess water is your sole concern. Getting rid of the tubes and hoses is always a good idea, of course.
So, that leaves us with installing a condensate pump as the better option. Condensate pumps are used to effectively direct and remove excess water from high efficiency furnaces (as well as humidifiers and A/C units). The pump takes the place of hoses that can and do rupture, and seamlessly transfers water to the appropriate drainage pipe.
The decision is yours to make, but the professionals at T.F. O’Brien are happy to offer expert advice or answer questions. Ensuring proper water drainage for high efficiency furnaces is good for your furnace, and good for your home.
T.F. O’Brien services the Long Island, New York area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about preventive maintenance and other HVAC topics, please download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Winter is almost here and so are your heating bills. Unfortunately, your heating bills can take quite a chunk out of your finances. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the majority of your energy bills are spent on heating your home. Given this statistic, it makes sense that you would want save money on your heating bills. But can you?
Yes, you can—if you buy a high efficiency furnace.
Understanding the Efficiency Rating of High Efficiency Furnaces
Before you go shopping for a high efficiency furnace, you need to know the efficiency rating that all furnaces now display.
The efficiency rating of furnaces is called the AFUE which stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. The AFUE measures how efficiently the unit uses its fuel during a typical year. It does this by calculating the total heat output of the furnace compared to the amount of energy the furnace consumed.
For instance, if you see a furnace with an AFUE of 90 percent, that means that 90 percent of the fuel’s energy becomes heat for the home and the remaining 10 percent of the energy escapes up the chimney or elsewhere. High efficiency furnaces with AFUE’s of 90 percent are highly efficient and, as such, will save you money on your heating bills.
Buying a High Efficiency Furnace
Finding a furnace’s AFUE rating is not difficult. By law, new furnaces must prominently display their AFUE. But there are a couple of facts that you should know:
Buying high efficiency furnaces can save Long Island residents a lot of money on their heating bills. So, if you’re considering a replacement, consider a high efficiency furnace. It will save you money now and into the future.
T.F. O’Brien services the Long Island, New York area.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about preventive maintenance and other HVAC topics, please download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
