A lot of people are trying to save money in today’s economic climate. Sometimes, that means delaying purchases and trying to get one more year out of that car, computer or furnace.
You have to be wise about such decisions, though. Sometimes holding on to that old appliance can actually cost you money, rather than saving it. Such is often the case when it comes to furnaces.
Home heating technology has come a long way in recent years, with new models becoming much more energy efficient than those that are currently installed in homes. Though no furnace is perfectly efficient – they all lose at least a little bit of heat to the outside air – some older models have literally 10 to 20 times as much waste as the best new options. In the Southwest Ohio climate, that wasted fuel can eventually add up to more than the cost of a new system.
You can calculate about how much a new system would save you on your heating bills by looking at the AFUE ratings. AFUE, or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, tells you the percent of the heat that gets utilized to warm your home. For instance, some very old heating systems had AFUE ratings of about 60 percent, which means that 40 percent of the heat was wasted. The best models available today have ratings in the high 90s.
So, let’s say your old system has an AFUE rating of 78 percent, and you are considering replacing it with a 98 percent model. That’s a difference of 20 percent. If you multiply your current annual heating bill by 20 percent, you’ll get a rough idea of how much a new furnace could save you every year.
If you buy the replacement before the end of the year, and you choose a high-efficiency model with at least a 95 percent AFUE, you can also qualify for federal tax credits and other rebates.
To learn more about which furnace options are available for your Dayton-area home, and how much you can save on your heating bills, contact us at Ace Hardware Home Services. We’ll be happy to help.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about furnaces and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.
Ace Hardware Home Services services the Ohio’s Miami Valley. Visit our website to see our special offers and get started today!
