Increasingly, high-efficiency condensing furnaces are taking over the market for gas furnaces in North America. Whereas a condensing furnace offers a minimum Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) of 90 percent, a conventional natural gas furnace usually doesn’t offer AFUE any higher than 80 percent.
- A conventional furnace wastes energy because it does not exploit the remaining heat in the steam that is formed during combustion, to provide more heat for the home.
- A condensing furnace is designed to use the latent heat that releases when steam condenses. The majority of these furnaces offer sealed combustion systems. This means that they draw air from the outside and then exhaust air outside by using fan pressure.
Your furnace’s efficiency directly affects your energy costs. As stated by the U.S. Department of Energy, climate control accounts for about 56 percent of the energy used in a typical home. The heating portion is approximately 30 percent, though, of course, this depends on where you live.
Conventional furnaces usually draw already heated air from inside the house, which wastes that air. These furnaces also use a chimney, which can be hazardous due to the possibility of a backdraft occurring, and bringing potentially dangerous fumes back into the house.
A condensing furnace uses two heat exchangers to extract heat. This allows for the extraction of heat over a longer period of time. One exchanger is used for the primary heat exchange and the other handles the exhaust gases of carbon dioxide and water. These exhaust gases are corrosive and form carbonic acid. The heat from these gases is used until water condensate drips from the furnace’s heat exchanger and flue gases escape via a sidewall PVC pipe, as opposed to a rooftop chimney or vent.
The initial cost of a condensing furnace is higher than that of a conventional furnace. For those residing in areas of the country that have mild winters, it may not be worth the investment. However, a condensing furnace is definitely good to have here in Northeast Ohio with our long, usually cold winters.
If you’re interested in finding out more about condensing furnaces, please contact us at Energy 1 Heating & Air Conditioning today. We provide quality HVAC services to homeowners in Lorain, Erie and Cuyahoga counties.
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 Condensing 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