Much like air conditioners and windows, furnaces and boilers come with their own set of efficiency ratings. A furnace heating system typically uses a homeowner�s housing ducts to push air into the home. For boilers, they heat homes by boiling hot water and dispersing through steam using pipes and radiators, depending on the age of the home. There are two types of boilers including steam operated and hot water operated. Unfortunately, steam boilers are less efficient than their boiling water counterpart.
Furnace efficiency ratings
Both furnaces and boilers share the same type of efficiency rating. This rating is known as the annual fuel utilization efficiency rating. Also known as the AFUE, all furnaces are required by law from the Federal Trade Commission to print the rating for consumer comparisons. The specifics of the efficiency begin with how the fuel energy is converted annually.
An AFUE rating is based on the conversion of energy to heat, not the amount of heat loss. With newer furnaces, heat loss can make up over 35% of energy through ventilation or piping. The locations of this heat loss can be found in the garage or attic spaces within a home. When a rating is shown as a percentage, this means that the percentage shown is how much energy becomes heat through the heating process. For the total amount of heat lost, the percentage is subtracted from 100.
The reason why heating loss cannot be predicted is because of the ductwork in the home. Each ductwork is different and can be pinpointed through
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Types of low efficiency furnaces
Pilot induced heating systems have an extremely low efficiency that are very touchy. Since this type of furnace is based on air and gravity, the pilot can be blown out extremely easily, which disabled the heat from being distributed. This type of furnace is mostly seen in older homes and apartments. Pilot run furnace systems have an efficiency rating between 55 and 70 percent, creating a heat loss of at least 30 to 45%.
With electronic furnaces, also known as having an electronic ignition, the pilot will never go out, as there isn�t one to be lit. This type of furnace is known as a mid-range model. The efficiency percentages for this type of model are between 80 and 84%. Last but not least, the third type of unit takes water from gas and disperses it through another device called an exchanger to create efficiency higher than any of its counterparts. The efficiency rating of this type of heater is between 90 and 98%, which means it will always have no more than 10% of heat lost.
Minimum requirements in the United States
Much like air conditioners, there are minimum requirements for efficiency ratings that must be met. Like SEER minimum ratings, the AFUE of a furnace or boiler must be at least 75%. This means that no more than 25% of heat is lost throughout its heating process. These regulations were put into place in 2013, but it�s not a requirement for homeowners to replace their current models through a heating repair in San Jose service.
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