Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing Blog

New Furnace Installation? A Few Things to Know

furnace-gas-with-pipes

You’ve decided the time has come to replace your ancient, unreliable furnace. Good planning! The deepest cold hasn’t yet arrived, but it’ll soon be on its way. That gives you enough time to replace your old furnace with a new one that should give you many warm winters.

However, getting a new furnace isn’t as easy as shopping for furniture or purchasing appliances online. You can’t simply look at a furnace model and say, “Yeah, I’ll get this.” Furnaces have special requirements, and there are a few important points to know about installation.

Consider the fuel source

Modern furnaces can run on a variety of fuel sources, such as propane and oil. Most furnaces in our area run either from natural gas or electricity. Natural gas is favored because it allows a furnace to output large amounts of heat in a short period. Natural gas is also less costly than electricity. If you already have a natural gas connection and your old furnace used gas, it’s probably best to stick with this fuel type.

Don’t discount electric furnaces, however. For some homes, this is the best option, especially for people who don’t like the possible safety hazards of using natural gas.

Look for high-efficiency furnaces

The efficiency rating for furnaces is a percentage called annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). The higher the AFUE, the less natural gas goes to waste as exhaust and the more heating energy you get for your dollar. There are a number of high-efficiency furnace models on the market today that can achieve AFUE ratings in the upper 90%. Your current furnace, by comparison, may have an AFUE between 70% and 80%. Although high efficiency furnaces are more expensive upfront, you may find it’s worth the extra money to reap the years of savings.

Sizing is critical

When we tell you that you must have a furnace that’s the correct size, we don’t mean its physical footprint. Size in this case is how much heating power the furnace puts out. A furnace that is undersized is no good because it will run constantly trying to warm a house it can’t warm. A furnace that is oversized is also trouble, because it will shut itself off early and begin to go through brief cycles that puts immense wear and tear on the unit.

To correctly size a furnace requires having professionals do a heat load calculation. This takes numerous factors about a house and then uses them to find the median between too big and too small.

Professionals are a must

Sizing isn’t the only task that requires licensed professionals. Replacing a furnace is a big undertaking and it is not for amateurs. Simply getting the old furnace out is an immense task. And only certified HVAC technicians can legally work on a gas-powered furnace. We’re the people to contact for furnace installation in North Potomac, MD or elsewhere in our wide service area. We pledge to exceed expectations at every turn, and we offer the longest warranties and guarantees. Our 12-Year part & labor warranty protects your investment in a new furnace or other heating system.

Tuckers Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing serves Washington D.C., Montgomery & Frederick Counties. Schedule furnace installation today.