Bigger is always better, right? Not when it comes to furnaces. Many homeowners are tempted to install a bigger furnace than their home needs because they believe the furnace will heat their home quickly and more effectively. An oversized furnace may heat your home quickly, but it could also make the heat provision less efficient and less comfortable.
Your furnace kicks on when the temperature in your home drops below the desired temperature you’ve set on your thermostat. When the furnace first turns on, it’s in a “heat-up” phase, which is also when it’s running at its lowest level of efficiency. As the temperature in the home approaches your desired setting, the furnace settles into a more consistent and efficient level of operation.
A perfectly sized furnace for your home will produce heat at a steady rate to maintain your desired temperature. There may be certain times when the temperature is below the thermostat level, but those time will be few and far between. The furnace usually runs continuously, but operating at its most efficient level.
An oversized furnace will kick on as soon as the temperature drops. However, it will reach your desired temperature very quickly. As soon as it does, the furnace will shut off. Once the house cools, it will turn on again, repeating the whole process.
This whole process of turning on-and-off means that the furnace is often running at its least efficient “heat-up” operational level. Repeatedly turning on-and-off also places stress on the furnace’s parts, increasing the need for service and repairs and reducing its life expectancy.
Another problem with oversized furnaces is that they can be uncomfortable. If your home is like most, heat probably isn’t distributed evenly throughout the house. Some rooms heat up faster than others. Your oversized furnace will make some rooms extremely hot while others are still warming up. Finally, with the too-large furnace starting and stopping so often, less air is moving through the filter and, if you have one, the whole-house humidifier.
To learn more about what size furnace you should have in your Lorain area home, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Lorain, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about over-sized furnaces and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
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Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning
1 (440) 246-5440
Serving the Lorain, OH Area