Although many of us keep warm enough, we start to be concerned about our aging beast living in the basement. Some people are worrying that their furnace isn’t up to the job anymore. I have a nineteen-year old home furnace; with the proper care and maintenance, I\’m hoping it will last for twenty more years.

Buying a new furnace is a big investment, costing at least a couple of thousand dollars. If you\’re planning on buying one, better do some research now.

The respected home consumer’s publication Consumer Reports recommends and gives home and property owners some pointers as well as things to consider. Included in these are :

Size: Determining the right size of your furnace for your space is critical. A furnace that’s too small will have to run continuously to keep the home warm. A furnace that is too large will keep cycling on and off unnecessarily, thereby causing uneven temperatures as well as inefficiency.

Consult a trusted contractor for professional advice and an estimate on options related to efficiency.

Efficiency: This is measured in gas furnaces through the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating, expressed in percentage. A higher number means it is more efficient at drawing heat from the fuel. New gas furnaces are required by law to have an AFUE rating of at least seventy-eight percent. Some of the newer and more efficient models can attain up to ninety-seven percent.

Environment: Furnaces which are friendly to the environment generate fewer emissions, but tend to cost more.

However, if you\’re not planning on buying a new furnace, but you don’t want two more months of chilling, teeth-chattering cold, there are some solutions to make your home warmer and more comfortable.

We did this when we interceded for our daughter who’s in college. The house she’s living in is old, and it had an old furnace. The heating of the house was uneven and it had hot and cold areas. It was hot in the center; but the extremities of the house were cold.

In September, we checked the basement and found some causes of the inefficiencies. The house had reversed duct-work and ducts ; the bathroom as well as the laundry room behind the first floor had not ducts; and finally, the furnace filter was dirty.

I promised I would work at her house sometime later, just before the temperature got extremely cold. So, when December came, while there was a break from classes, we insulated a crawl space then rearranged and added ductwork in the basement. She helped me measure the pipes, hold them, cut the metal sheets, drive in the metal screws, tape up the ductwork, and then clean up the mess when we we’re done.

We utilized insulated flexible ductwork to distribute heat to registers along the exterior walls and to the rooms that had been unheated in the back. Not only was the flexible pipe cheap, installing it was easy, and the insulation greatly improved the efficiency.

Our daughter says that the house stayed warm throughout the recent cold spell. One room was excessively warm; the next job will be to install an economical damper in the ductwork not far from the furnace to control the airflow at least through that pipe.

Choosing a new or replacement furnace is a major expenditure out of pocket.
On top of that you as a home or property owner will be saddled with monthly gas fuel costs each and every month. You want to get the best value for your money both for comfort and convenience of your family or residents. Next in line not be forgotten is to keep your fuel budget and maintenance costs to a minimum as well. Its all about long term comfort and good economy and thrift .

Author Bio: Shaun Z. Stevens Furnasman One Hour Heating Winnipeg Furnasmans Winnipeg Power Vac Duct Cleaning Asthma Molds Allergy Relief Reduce Wintertime Furnace System Drafts Wheezing

Category: Home Management
Keywords: choosing a furnace,wintertime heating bills,reduce home heating bills,clean heating ducts asthma