Keeping your De Pere home warm during the winter is a big job. To provide the maximum level of comfort, it’s important to choose your furnace carefully. Although the pros at Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC are happy to recommend a furnace for your home, it’s still a good idea to do some research of your own so that you understand what you’re buying. Although there are many factors that go into furnace shopping, here are a few of the most important variables to keep in mind.
Type of Furnace
One of the biggest differences between furnaces is the fuel they use to create heat. The main fuel options are natural gas, electricity, propane, and heating oil. Typically, homeowners opt to replace their current furnace with a new furnace that uses the same fuel to cut down on installation costs. However, as different types of furnaces advance in terms of efficiency, it may be worth it to consider alternative fuel options for heating your home.
Size of Furnace
Furnaces are not one-size-fits-all home appliances. You want to make sure that the furnace you select is neither too large nor too small for your home. Errors in either direction will cause your home to be uncomfortable and cause your furnace to operate more often than necessary, leading to excess wear and tear.
At Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC, we work hard to measure your living space ahead of time so that we can be sure to provide you with a perfectly sized furnace that will keep your home at a constant temperature. We also make sure that your ductwork is properly sized so that the correct volume of conditioned air arrives in every room.
Location of Furnace
The location of your furnace can also play a role in which one you select. If your furnace is located in your basement, for example, it may make more sense to select an electric furnace so that you don’t have to vent the furnace.
If you have limited space in your utility area, you’ll need to carefully measure the space and take into account the space required for the installation process when it’s time to select a furnace. Of course, our pros at Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC have lots of experience fitting furnaces into tight spaces. We also have the tools to ensure careful installation without damaging your home.
Efficiency Rating
Trying to compare different furnaces can be confusing at first. Since they all produce heat, it’s important to understand what ultimately distinguishes one furnace from another. One important characteristic to look at is the annual fuel utilization efficiency, or AFUE, of the furnace. This is an objective measurement that looks at how efficiently a furnace uses its fuel.
When a furnace wastes less fuel while producing heat, it receives a higher AFUE rating. Typically, furnaces with higher AFUE ratings cost less to operate but cost more to purchase. Electric furnaces tend to have higher AFUE ratings than gas furnaces. However, since electricity is more expensive in most areas, electric furnaces tend to be more expensive to operate.
Cost
For many homeowners, the decision of which furnace to buy ultimately comes down to cost. It’s important to remember, though, that a more expensive furnace will typically last longer. Other characteristics that typically set a more expensive furnace apart are a longer warranty period, more efficient operation, and, in many cases, better customer support from the manufacturer.
To ensure that you can get a great furnace when it’s time for replacement, it’s a good idea to try and save some money every month so that you’re ready when your current furnace no longer meets your needs. At Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC, we will work hard to make your new system as affordable as possible, including offering maintenance agreements so that your new furnace is less expensive to maintain.
Installing All Types of Furnaces
No matter which type of furnace you need, Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC can take care of you. We offer repair, maintenance, and installation services for both furnaces and air conditioners. To help offer even more comfort, we can install whole-home humidifiers and dehumidifiers so that you’re perfectly comfortable in every season. As a company, we’ve been proud to serve our neighbors for over 15 years. Our top-notch service continues to earn us industry awards, including the Angie’s List Super Service Award, the Best of the Bay Award, as well as plenty of five-star customer reviews. To learn more about replacing your furnace, contact us at Healthy Home Heating & Cooling LLC today.
