When your old furnace is on its last legs and needs replacing, the thought of making a major financial investment in a new unit can be intimidating. But buying a furnace for your Shelby Township, Dearborn, or Detroit-Metro area home doesn’t need to be a nerve-racking experience. Knowing what makes a particular model a goof fit for your house takes the uncertainty and anxiety out of the process.
- Sizing: Many furnaces are too large for the home, which wastes energy due to the unit continually cycling on and off. On the other hand, a furnace that is too small may not heat the house adequately. Only a professional technician can properly size a furnace to match your needs. This is done by considering various factors, such as the overall design of the home, window placement, insulation levels and regional climate.
- Efficiency: The heat-burning efficiency of a furnace is rated in percentage terms by the AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) scale. Homes in areas with more severe winters typically need a unit with better AFUE rating, such as high-efficiency models that have ratings of 90 percent or higher. These units cost more than furnaces with lower AFUE rankings, but make up for the cost over time as their greater energy efficiency results in lower monthly utility charges. The amount of time it takes to recover your initial expenses varies based on the climate, local utility rates and the effectiveness of your home insulation.
- Energy Star: One way to make certain your new furnace is energy efficient is by purchasing a unit that has received Energy Star certification. The federal government’s Energy Star program awards this designation to models which have proved through rigorous testing that they use energy more effectively than comparable furnaces. For those living in regions with severe winters, such as southeast Michigan, Energy Star units can result in significant annual savings on heating costs.
For more information on buying a furnace and other issues related to home comfort, contact us at Aladdin Heating & Cooling. We have served the Utica, Rochester and the Detroit-Metro area of southeast Michigan since 1946.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about buying a furnace and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Aladdin Heating services Novi, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Southfield, Oak Park, Ferndale, Beverly Hills, Berkley, Royal Oak, Birmingham, Bloomfield Twp., Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Madison Heights, Clawson, Sterling Heights, Warren, Troy, St. Clair Shores, Grosse Pointe, Grosse Pointe Woods, Grosse Pointe Farms, Grosse Pointe Park, Detroit, Utica, Shelby Twp., Rochester, Rochester Hills, Auburn Hills, Lake Orion, Oxford, and Clarkston.
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