Installing a heating system in your home is a significant investment. And like most investments, it will cost you a considerable amount of time and money. This is why it is essential to carry out proper research before acquiring a furnace. This research will help you avoid the common mistakes most people make when shopping for new furnaces.
Here's how to buy a furnace and some of the common mistakes people make when purchasing one:
Ignoring The Size
According to information from Quality AC and Furnace Repair in Barrie: “If you choose a furnace that is too small, your home won't get heated properly. If you choose one that is too large, it becomes an excessive requirement and may end up breaking down in the future. This is why knowing the right furnace size for your home is a crucial factor to consider before installing a heating system.”Going For The Cheap Option
In the quest for new furnace rental services, you might be tempted to go for the less expensive option rather than going for quality. This might suit your budget at the time, but in the long run, you would end up spending more trying to fix or replace a furnace that isn't apt for your home.Buying A New Furnace Only When The Old One Breaks Down
Most homeowners wait for their furnace to break down before replacing it. It makes sense to check whether your furnace needs repair or replacement before that. While this might sound like a plausible plan, it isn't. Last-minute decisions are usually hasty and unreliable. This is why you should pay close attention to your furnace, so you can have enough time to decide on the most suitable furnace for you to purchase.Tips on how to avoid failure when you buy a new furnace:
1. Understand Your Needs
Understanding your needs and the requirements of your home is pivotal in buying the best furnace. Knowing how much space you have plays a significant role in helping you make the best choice. A split system comes with a bulky exterior that requires an installation inside the house. And it becomes problematic if your home isn't that spacious. However, a packaged system requires installation done outside, which is suitable for families with smaller spaces.2. Size Of Your House
Another factor to consider is size. If your house is a big one, then a big furnace will be more appropriate. However, if your home is small, a big furnace will only result in extensive use of fuel and a surge in electricity bills.
3. Type Of Furnace
Having a grasp of the different types of furnaces available in the market will help you make an excellent choice.• Energy-based: furnaces are divided into four categories for energy requirement— Natural gas, oil, electric, and propane. A knowledge of this will help you decide which is more economical for you.
Natural gas furnaces are more economical than the lot, and they function at an efficiency level of over 95%.
Oil furnaces have an efficiency of 80-90%, making them the next best option.
Propane furnaces come in handy when gas and oil supply is scarce in your vicinity.
Lastly, electric furnaces are a cheaper option. But it is crucial to evaluate the difference between gas and electric charges before settling for this type of furnace.
• Setting based: There are three types of furnaces based on their setting — Single-stage furnace, two-stage furnace, and modulating furnace.
Single-stage furnaces are most commonly purchased. However, they result in high fuel consumption.
Two-stage furnaces have two settings— High and Medium. And this helps regulate the level of fuel consumption to a certain level.
A modulating furnace saves energy by burning fuel in small quantities and also maintains a stable temperature in your home.
4. Treat It Like An Investment
Regard your search for a new furnace as an investment. Going for the cheapest option, just like most people do, is not a wise investment plan. Affordable furnaces come with a ton of problems as they tend to develop faults and consume more fuel. In the long run, you end up spending more on repairs and energy bills. Going for a suitable furnace might be expensive at first, but it saves you more cost than you can imagine in the long run.5. Hire A Professional HVAC contractor
The essence of consulting a professional cannot be overemphasized. Hire a capable contractor to inspect your home before harboring thoughts of buying a furnace. The worries of picking the wrong furnace type for your house will be no more once an expert is involved.6. Energy Sufficiency
To pick the best furnace for your house, you need to inquire about the AFUE ratings of the furnace type you wish to purchase. The knowledge of these ratings would help you pick the most energy-efficient model to buy. The most energy efficient furnace types have highAFUE ratings, vice versa.
7. Proper installation and Maintenance
It is not advisable to install your furnace on your own. Do not even think about it! If you're looking for a platform to display your mechanic skills, this is certainly not it. A furnace improperly installed consumes more fuel than it normally should. Avoid racking up hefty and unnecessary energy bills by hiring an expert to do the installation.
Buying and installing the right type of furnace is not the end of it. Like every other house appliance, furnaces develop faults. If these faults are not fixed on time, furnaces may consume a lot of energy as a compensatory measure for the problem.
You should inform the company or expert who did the installation of any faults. However, what you shouldn't do is to try and fix these problems yourself, not when there are professionals out there, like the team at Summers Plumbing Heating and Cooling (summersphc.com/brownsburg/services/heating/furnace-repair/), who are properly qualified to repair furnaces. Maintenance checks are also necessary to ensure your furnace doesn't develop faults frequently. The company or expert will probably inform you of this.
Please do not panic, these are problems that people encounter regularly, and the purpose of this article is to help you avoid them. Also, it is always better to consult with professional HVAC contractors before making any significant decisions.
