Understanding Your Furnace Energy Efficiency - Heat Relief Heating & Cooling

Understanding Your Furnace Energy Efficiency

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Happy 2020! This year, we want to help improve your vision for saving money on HVAC expenses. Here at Heat Relief, we love to help our Portland community reduce costs and improve efficiency. One way you can do this is to better understand your Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (or AFUE).

What is AFUE?

The name “Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency”is pretty self-explanatory compared to some other HVAC terms. The AFUE measures the level of efficiency with which your furnace utilizes its fuel. The more efficient your furnace runs, the more heat your home will get per unit of fuel.

The name “Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency” is pretty self-explanatory compared to some other HVAC terms. The AFUE measures the level of efficiency with which your furnace utilizes its fuel. The more efficient your furnace runs, the more heat your home will get per unit of fuel.

What is an AFUE rating?

Your AFUE is rated on a scale up to 100, and is based on the percentage of fuel that is being converted to energy to heat your home. A mid-level AFUE rating would be in the 80s, and a high-efficiency furnace could have an AFUE rating higher than 90%. The current minimum standard for AFUE ratings in new furnaces and the lowest you would see on a Bryant furnace is 80%. Our top featured Bryant units offer up to 96.5% and 98.3% AFUE.

Types of Fuel

We service any type of furnace or heating system, but most units (like Bryant), use gas to heat your home. The type of fuel generating the heat in your home impacts your AFUE rating, with gas and electric heating provide some of the highest ratings, and firewood providing one of the lowest. There are many variations within the types of fuel as well, based on the price and type of your HVAC unit.

Save Money with AFUE

To save money in the long run, you will need to compare the price of your unit with the cost of operating it. For example, an electric furnace has a 100% AFUE rating, but it is the most expensive type of fuel. A natural gas furnace may be slightly less efficient with an AFUE rating around 80-90%, but the cost of gas is much lower. Within the same type of fuel (again, most people use natural gas) comparing the price of the unit with the AFUE rating can help you determine which unit is best for you.

If you are ready to improve your HVAC efficiency, give your Heat Relief technician a call today at (503) 877-1713! We hope to see you soon!

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