Facts:
- Your furnace works to keep a home warm in the colder months and plays a crucial part in the operation of your air conditioning system.
- Furnaces produce heat through the combustion of a fossil fuel style furnace’s burner. The heated gases produced from the burner then passes through a heat exchanger. The air from your home’s return air ducts is blown over the heat exchanger, thus warming the air.
- The furnace’s blower then blows the warmed air through the ductwork, which carries and disperses the warmed air throughout the home.
- During warmer months, the blower with in the furnace continues to circulate return air throughout the home, the return air has been cooled by being blown over the indoor air condition coil of the air conditioning system. The evaporator coil is typically installed on top of the furnace.
Benefits:
- Indoor warmth any time.
- Energy efficiency -The efficiency of a furnace can be determined by its AFUE–or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. The minimum efficiency level for furnaces currently manufactured in the U.S. is 80% AFUE. A rating of “80% AFUE” means that for every dollar you spend heating your home; 80 cents are actually applied to the generation of warmth. Compared to many of the 60% AFUE furnaces in older homes, 80% AFUE furnaces are a significant improvement. However, for enhanced energy efficiency, you may wish to consider a 95+% AFUE furnace,
- Cleaner air with your HVAC system draws air out of various returns in the house, the air is pulled through an air filter which removes airborne particles such as dust, dander, and lint. More advanced air filters may remove microscopic pollutants, as well. The filtered air is then routed to air supply ductwork that carries it back to rooms. Whenever the HVAC system is running, this cycle is constantly filtering and cleaning the air in your home.
- This cleaning process improves with the installation of a variable-speed furnace. Variable-speed furnaces use variable-speed blowers, which shift between several speeds. These furnaces will run longer at a low speed, which causes them to filter the indoor air more frequently.
- And remember – because the furnace plays an important role in the operation of the air conditioner, its variable-speed blower helps maintain both a consistent indoor temperature and improved air quality year-round.
