Choosing a furnace for your home is not difficult. The following list are features that you may want to look for when buying your furnace.

1. What type of furnace do you want? Will it be Gas or Electric?

The Gas Furnace

The gas furnace is always more affordable to use than the electric furnace where gas is readily available. On the downside, burning fuel generates fumes. In well-maintained gas furnaces, the fumes generated are enclosed in the exchanger and then exit the house through an exhaust vent.

Remember, a gas furnace must be checked by a qualified professional at least once a year. The professional would check the furnace for holes, leaks or cracks. A break or crack in the furnace lets carbon monoxide seep into your house or place of business.

The Electric Furnace

The electric furnace has a higher cost than a gas furnace. On the upside, since electric furnaces do not use flames, it does not generate any carbon monoxide. The electric furnace is cleaner and safer than a gas furnace.

2. The Quality of the Furnace

The quality of the furnace determines how long and how well it will perform. Choosing a brand of furnace that has a history of quality and reliability can be less costly in the long run. Ask your contractor about which brand will be optimal for your needs. A free estimate for the purchase and installation are available in some companies.

3. The Efficiency of the Furnace

The efficiency of gas furnaces are determined by the AFUE or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency ratings. The AFUE ratings identifies how efficiently is the fuel being consumed. In most cases, a higher AFUE rating means it takes less fuel to heat your home.

Gas furnaces with higher ratings cost more than those with lower ratings but may save you more money down the road. A minimum rating of 78% is established by the government in 1992. Many furnaces have an efficiency rating of about 60% prior to 1992.

a. The Mid-Efficiency Furnaces

The mid-efficiency furnaces are also called ‘induces draft furnaces’ or ‘non-condensing furnaces’. The mid-efficiency furnace offers the bare minimum of 78% efficiency up to about 80%.

b. The High-Efficiency Furnaces

The high-efficiency furnaces are also known as ‘condensing furnaces’ or ’sealed combustion furnaces’. The high-efficiency furnaces has an AFUE rating as high as 96%. Some furnaces use a two-stage valve and an efficient variable-speed motor to raise comfort and effectiveness.

4. The Comfort features of furnaces

Several furnaces provide features that increases comfort and efficiency.

a. The features of the two-speed furnace

The furnace can function at low speed for most of the time. It allows for a more quieter operation for a longer amount of time compared to a ’single-speed furnace’. The longer run periods allow for fewer start/stop cycles, less drafts, and very little temperature variance.

The temperature swing is limited to about two degrees compared to the four degree variance of the single-speed units. The two-speed unit gives better circulation which prevents warmer air from rising and the cooler air from settling down. The two-speed unit gives a more consistent temperature in the house.

b. The features of variable-capacity furnaces

Furnaces with variable capacity provide a combination of efficiency and comfort. The variable-capacity has a motor that regulates your needs by automatically adjusting air volume and speed. The var-cap furnace provides the most efficient heating and cooling.

A fan comes with the var-cap furnace. The fan will reduce your cost during summer. If the fan is used throughout summer, the central air conditioning unit increases in efficiency.

5. The furnace noise level

Unfortunately, all furnaces do not come with a standard rating system for sound unlike heat pumps and air conditioners. Although, two-speed units and var-cap units generally operate at a low noise levels.

The two-speed and var-cap furnaces run for longer periods and lower sounds than the standard unit. Certain var-cap units has features that prevent ‘creaking’ of the ducts due to expansion and contraction caused by changing temperature. The temperature differential is reduced so that the creaking noise is also almost eliminated.

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The air filter in an air conditioning system keeps the cooling coils and air inside the room clean and free from all pollutants, pet dander, ozone emissions and airborne particles.

There are many different kinds of air filters available today, such as HEPA, standard, pleated, electrostatic and electronic filters. Of these, standard, pleated and electrostatic filters are the most common types of filters that are used in air conditioners. Generally these filters are located in walls, ceilings, furnaces, or in the air conditioner itself.

Standard Air Filters, having the capacity of removing 10 percent of the airborne pollutants, are made of spun fiberglass with cardboard frames. They should be changed once a month.

Pleated Air Filters catch around 35% to 40% of the particles in the air. Owing to their greater surface area with filter material folded back and forth like a paper fan, manufacturers claim that they can last from two to four months. The cost of these filters ranges from $5 to $20 which is slightly more than that of standard filters.

Electrostatic filters use filter media, which use an electric charge to attract the dirt particles in the air. These filters may have electric charge built-in, or else the air moving through the layers of the system creates electric charge. They may cost from around $20 to over $100 each. These filters only need to be changed once a year.

Sometimes people with allergies may consider the usage of an electronic air cleaner in the air conditioner, which works on the same principle as that of electrostatic filter. However, it is far more effective than electrostatic filter and does not hinder the flow of air inside the air conditioning system. Whatever type of air conditioner filter you use, it is advisable to check the cleanliness of the coils of the filter by a contractor at least once in a month.

Perhaps the most important measure that will ensure the efficiency of an air conditioner is frequent replace of its filters. One should change the air conditioner’s filter regularly, as clogged, dirty filters block normal air flow and reduce the system’s efficiency significantly by impairing the coils’ heat-absorbing capacity.

Air Filters Info provides detailed information on home, car, electronic, and HEPA air filters, as well as air conditioner filters and air filter manufacturers. Air Filters Info is the sister site of Air Purifiers Web.

As with anything used around the house and home, the outdoor wood furnace has a list of pros and cons. Lets take a look at some of the features and statements made about outdoor wood furnaces so you can decide for yourself. We will discuss the pros of this style home heating first. The second part of this article will cover the cons.

It would seem that the obvious first advantage of the outdoor wood furnace is that the actual fire is now outside your home! Safety is one of the most prominent features of burning your furnace outside. Besides the fire, fumes and smoke are now further from the house and in the case of an incident, pose much less danger.

The danger of home heating fires is real. In 1994 alone there were an estimated 73,000 home heating fires that killed 487 people. Injuries were around the 2000 people mark. This in itself makes for a convincing argument for outdoor furnaces over indoor wood burning.

A lot of clients report a decrease in respiratory and allergy like systems when switching from indoor to outdoor wood furnaces. Because the smoke and soot are now outside the indoor air quality is greatly improved.

Outdoor wood furnaces state that burning wood as a source of home heating is friendly to the environment because it saves on burning nonrenewable fossil fuels. Since wood is renewable and according to manufactures does not contribute to carbon dioxide levels, this is good for the environment. It may sound contrary to saving the environment but wood burning furnaces is actually endorsed by the U.S. forestry service.

Because of smoke from the burning of wood in outdoor furnaces, most of these appliances are used in rural settings. The good thing about the rural location is that it lends itself to being able to provide your own fuel at little or no cost through your own cutting or using of scrap woods or land clearing leftovers. More savings can be had if the outdoor wood furnace is equipped to also heat your water. With the furnace not only heating the home but the water also, statistics show that savings up to $4000 per year can be realized through not burning oil or gas.

So there you have the most often sited advantages of the outdoor wood furnace. Most of these facts are pushed by the manufactures. In the next part of this article, we are going to look at the disadvantages of the outdoor wood burning furnace. Most of these comments and points however, come from the users themselves.

Read about outdoor wood furnace disadvantages.