Over the years, Superior comfort heating and cooling has proven many times over that it is a leading provider of Grosse Ile Michigan heating and cooling services. When you call on this exceptional company for its services, you can expect to work with the very best in the business when it comes to heat pump installation, water heater replacement, furnace installation & HVAC service.
Over the years, Superior comfort heating and cooling has proven many times over that it is a leading provider of Grosse Ile Michigan heating and cooling services.
Today, manufacturers of heating systems have a wide selection of technology to choose from when they need a new system. Since the invention of electric resistance, heating systems have been a primary source of energy consumption in homes and commercial buildings.
Each year, heating equipment operates about 16% of the time and is responsible for nearly half of all energy consumption by homes. The most common type of heating system is the forced-air furnace, although some buildings use other types such as radiant systems (hot water, steam or hot air) and boilers (steam or hot water).
Today’s furnaces are 96% more efficient than those made in 1980, according to ENERGY STAR. That means that for every one unit of energy consumed on an old furnace, a new model will produce more than two units of heat. If your furnace was built before 1993 and you haven’t replaced it yet — it’s probably time to look into the purchase price and installation costs.
Considerations when choosing furnace
Fuel-burning furnaces are the most common type of furnace, but they are also the least efficient, according to Energy Star. Oil-, gas- or propane-fired furnaces heat air in a combustion chamber and then distribute it through ducts to heat your home. However, these types of units lose considerable amounts of energy up the stack.
Electricity is another option for heating your home. Fan forced electric units produce even less heat than other electric units because they use an electric motor to circulate warm air throughout your house instead of heating it directly with resistance elements as gas furnaces do. Most modern electric furnaces have variable-speed fans and modulating heating elements that make them more efficient than units made 15 years ago; if you already have an electric furnace, it’s likely one of these models.
Heat pump technology has improved to the point where they compete with gas furnaces on both performance and cost. Despite modest upfront costs, heat pumps can reduce your energy bills by about half because they use electricity to move heat from the outside air into your home during winter, and reverse the process in summertime to cool your home instead of using conventional air conditioners.
Performance: The efficiency of a heating system is measured as Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). A gas or oil furnace AFUE is less than 75%, meaning that for every100 units of heat that go into the furnace, 25 units are wasted. By comparison, an electric furnace has an AFUE of about 95%, while a heat pump system can have an AFUE of up to 20%. ENERGY STAR recommends buying a model with at least 81% AFUE.
