Installing a New Furnace

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could just go to the store, pick out a nice furnace and then leave it to the installers? It’s not that easy, of course, and if you took your furnace installation that casually, you very likely would end up with a system that wasted energy, performed poorly and wasn’t sized for your home. Following are several important considerations to take into account when pursuing a furnace installation.

• What type of fuel will your furnace burn, or will it burn fuel at all? The most common type of furnace burns natural gas, which is relatively cheap in the currently depressed energy market. If you’re replacing another gas furnace, your home is already outfitted with most of the infrastructure necessary for a natural gas furnace. However, if you’re upgrading from a standard to a high-efficiency furnace, some modifications will be necessary in the venting setup. You can also consider a propane or fuel-burning furnace, if you have the fuel tanks already, or else choose among various other options, including an electric furnace or heat pump, a boiler, or a radiant heating system.
• What capacity or size should your new furnace be? Make sure the installer plans to perform a heating load calculation on your home, so the recommended furnace is sized to handle that load. This process takes into account your home’s size and layout, energy efficiency, and other factors. A furnace that’s too big or too small will waste energy, result in uneven heating, and may malfunction more than one that’s been properly sized.
• Should you choose a high-efficiency furnace? In a cold-winter climate like Northeast Ohio, it makes sense to choose a high-efficiency furnace, one that converts more than 90 percent of its fuel into heat. While they cost more than standard-efficiency furnaces, you’ll reap long-term benefits from lower energy costs.
• Should you get advanced features? Discuss available features such as variable-speed and multi-stage operation with your trusted technician. These will permit long-term energy savings.

For more information about a furnace installation in your Greater Cleveland area home, please contact us at Stack Heating & Cooling.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Cleveland, Ohio about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).

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