These days, home owners search for all the value they can find in every household purchase they make. You’re probably no different. So when the time comes to replace a furnace in an existing central heating system, or to install a totally new system, you want equipment that minimizes costs and delivers dependable office comfort for your family – season after season. Here’s a look at some things to consider.
WHAT DO GOOD FURNACES HAVE IN COMMON?
The best furnaces are efficient. They keep a home warm and comfortable. They provide steady, dependable performance year after year. And they are quiet, long-lasting and low in service frequency and cost.
WHICH FURNACES ARE ENERGY EFFICIENT?
When a furnace loses or wastes heat, it requires more energy to keep your home warm. Some furnaces lose heat through the walls of the furnace cabinet. Energy-efficient furnaces like Bryant’s full line of state-of-the-art models significantly reduce this loss with a blanket of insulation that lines the inside of the cabinet walls.
When a gas furnace is not in operation, most send a steady, wasteful draft of warm household air traveling up the venting system and out the roof. The Bryant Furnaces – with AFUE ratings of 80% or higher – feature an induced-draft blower that works in conjunction with a hot surface ignition system to pull hot gases through the heat exchanger at a constant and controlled rate of flow. As the burner cycles off, the draft blower stops, keeping the heating air in the system.
Pilot lights also can be wasteful. The electric ignition in many of Bryant’s furnaces eliminates the need for a constantly burning pilot. This feature alone gives up to 6% higher efficiency. And in combination with an induced-draft blower, can improve furnace efficiencies by over 20%.
Most gas furnaces vent combustion by-products and gases by allowing the warm air to rise naturally. However, on occasion, proper venting of combustion by-products may be restricted due to blockage, deterioration of venting systems, malfunctions or other causes.
The Bryant induced-draft blower maintains a constant draft through the heat exchanger, which assures proper venting of the furnace combustion chamber. Bryant also features a pressure switch which continuously monitors venting; and in the event it senses a vent flow restriction, it will automatically shut down your heating system for your safety.
The most efficient furnaces tap the energy of the hot vent gases – which can reach temperatures of 500 degrees Fahrenheit, and more. The Bryant Evolution gas furnace does this by routing the hot gases through a secondary heat exchanger. This step captures the otherwise wasted heat using it to preheat the household air and delivers AFUE ratings up to 95%.
A high-efficiency furnace generally wears a higher price tag, but it can make up the difference by reducing operating costs over the long run. And with today’s consumer interest in efficiency, such equipment enhances the bottom line of your home.
ARE SOME FURNACES BETTER THAN OTHERS?
Definitely. Features to look for include heat exchangers that resist corrosion, direct-drive blower units, induced draft blowers, pressure switches, and an insulated blower compartment, which helps minimize operating noise.