With This Handy Buyer's Guide, You Can Select A Heating System That Performs To Your Home's Unique Heating Demands

When choosing a home heating system, you naturally want to be careful to choose a furnace or heat pump that will suit your home’s unique heating demands and do the best job for the most economical cost. 

Use this heating system buyer’s guide when it’s time to select your new unit:

Efficiency

Furnace efficiency is measured by the unit’s annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating. This number represents how well the equipment turns fuel into heat. For example, in an AFUE 90 gas furnace, 90 percent of the gas becomes heat. The remaining 10 percent of the energy is lost through the chimney or elsewhere in the system. The higher the AFUE rating, the more efficient the heating system.

Fuel Availability And Cost

You must have an available fuel source that is appropriate to the heating system you want. If you want a gas furnace but have no source of natural gas, you will have to contact your utility company to install a gas pipeline. You should also consider how much fuel you must purchase at one time. A monthly bill from the gas company spreads out costs better than a single purchase to fill a propane tank.

Load Calculation And Sizing

The furnace’s load is the total heating demand that will be placed on it; that is, how much heating it will have to do. Furnaces must be sized correctly — be big enough and powerful enough — to meet that demand. HVAC installers should perform a load calculation on your home. This calculation takes into account structural and environmental factors that affect how much heating you will need.

If you need help choosing a heating system, contact the pros at Paschal, Heat, Air & Geothermal. We have been serving customers in northwest Arkansas and surrounding communities for more than 40 years.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about heating systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

Paschal Heating, Air & Geothermal services Northwest Arkansas. Visit our websiteto see our special offers and get started today!      

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