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Is Your Home’s Gas Furnace Efficient?
High home heating bills – they’re an unfortunate but common reality for Minneapolis residents each winter.
With a rise in natural gas costs playing the role of the villain, an inefficient gas furnace is a worthy collaborator, costing some homeowners as much as 40% in additional heating costs. With older furnaces, heat can be wasted through the exhaust. This makes the furnace itself warm, but leaves it unable to produce usable heat.
But just how do you know if it’s time to replace your current unit with a new, more energy-efficient gas furnace?
The efficiency of a gas furnace is measured by Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE). Essentially, it measures the amount of heat delivered to your home in comparison to the amount of fuel that must be supplied to the furnace. If your gas furnace is more than 15 years old, your furnace’s AFUE may be 60-70%, meaning as much as 30-40% of every dollar you spend on fuel could be wasted.
Newer, more efficient gas furnaces can have an AFUE of as much as 95% or more. That means the gas furnace can convert as much as 95% of the fuel you’re paying for into usable heat for your home. Energy-efficient models, including Trane 95 gas furnaces, have even been show to deliver up to 96.7% efficiency.
Throughout 2010, federal tax credits of up to $1,500 are available for new energy-efficient equipment installed in existing homes, including natural gas furnaces. To take advantage, pay special attention to the SEER and AFUE rating required to qualify for the credit.
Of course, only a home heating expert can give you a definitive answer regarding whether it’s time to replace your current gas furnace, for either efficiency or safety reasons.
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Is Your Gas Furnace Safe?
A gas furnace that is not operating at peak performance can be costly to run and can result in unsafe levels of carbon monoxide—an odorless, colorless byproduct of all gas furnaces that can cause flu-like symptoms, disorientation, confusion, and even death.
It is highly recommended that you have your furnace cleaned and checked every year—the older the furnace, the more important this service is. Newer gas furnaces are equipped with many features that shut the furnace off when a problem is detected. However, older furnaces have no such devices. Over time, furnaces can develop small cracks in the combustion chamber that may not be visible to the naked eye. It is through these cracks that carbon monoxide can leak into your home.
For your family’s safety and energy-efficient operation that will save you money, Welter Heating offers a comprehensive Furnace Clean & Safety Check-Up. For just $99, a fully trained professional from Welter Heating will perform the following services on your home heating system:
- Clean and check thermostat
- Clean and check furnace filters, replace if necessary*
- Clean blower and check for blower noise
- Check for duct noise
- Clean draft inducer motor and check for noise
- Clean and secure furnace hose
- Clean and check furnace cabinet, top, and blower compartment
- Clean top of water heater
- Clean and check furnace and water heater venting
- Clean and check humidifier pad and drain hose, replace if necessary*
Additional Clean & Safety Check Services
- Test carbon monoxide detector, if present (see safety tip below)
- Check air-to-air exchanger operation, if present
- Clean and check air-to-air exchanger filters, if present
- Clean and check air-to-air connections for secure seal, if present
- Clean and check air-to-air intake hood, if present; replace if necessary*
- Clean and check outside air-to-air intake hood, if present
- Clean and check outside flue termination
Safety Tip
For year-round protection from the potentially deadly effects of carbon monoxide poisoning, the professionals at Welter Heating recommend you install a carbon monoxide detector near your sleeping area and a second near the furnace area. At least one of these carbon monoxide detectors should be battery powered.
Fall and winter months also see many residents warming their cars prior to driving—often in the garage or immediately outside the garage with the garage door open. These are dangerous practices and can put lethal amounts of carbon monoxide inside your home in a matter of minutes.
Give us a call at 612.825.6867 and ask for service to schedule your Furnace Clean & Safety Check-Up this fall.
*Parts, if necessary, are provided at an additional cost
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