The Home Furnace Blog

Well, it’s that time of year again.  At least it is here on the northern shores of Lake Ontario.  That would be in Canada!

Depending on the age of your home, you’ll have return air vents on the upper level.  Likely a few sets.  A vent at the floor and right above it, a vent at the ceiling.  Now that it’s time to crank on the home furnace, you need to adjust the vents.

As you know, or you really should know, hot air rises.  In the summer, we want the upper vent—the one at the ceiling level—to be open and the bottom one closed.  That clears out all that hot air that is sitting above your head.  Of course, you don’t want hot air collecting in your home in the summer, so you set the return air vent to pull that hot air back into your HVAC system.

But now that the colder weather is nearly open us we want to take advantage of the natural buildup of warmer air.  Why waste it?  Especially when we now have to pay for it?  So, close the ceiling vent so the air stays right where it can be of some use, and open the vent closer to the floor.  That way you are clearing out the cooler air that you now longer want.  Oh, and just a little side note.  Got a ceiling fan upstairs?  If you reverse it, it will circulate that warm air for you.  Just put it on the lowest level, and let it move that heat around.  Let it wrap around you like a blanket instead of sitting like a cloud above your head and providing little benefit for you!

Rheem has added to their lineup with a new 95% high efficiency furnace. The new Rheem Classic® is a two stage furnace.

There are many in the industry that say Rheem has the best furnace ever, with its modulating furnace.  This new furnace doesn’t meet the design of the mod, but it might be worth looking into!

Check out the Rheem Media Release for all the details!

There is a new model in the Trane Furnace lineup.  Better yet, this high efficiency furnace achieves a 95% AFUE rating, and is eligible for rebates.

This new single stage replaces the XR90.

You can find specifics on the new model HERE.

If you live in New Hampshire, check to see how old your furnace and air conditioner are! If yours are the oldest to be found in the State, you are in line for a new furnace and A/C.  Sanford Temperature Control Inc are donating new HVAC to whomever the lucky person is.

Think it might be you?   Call Sanford Temperature Control Inc. at 672-1643 or contact them via www.sanfordtemp.com for more info.

What a great marketing idea!

High efficiency is king.  Mid efficiency is getting kicked to the curb.

As of December 31, 09, the manufacturing and sales of mid efficiency furnaces will be no more in Canada.  One wonders when the U.S. will follow.

And will prices will drop on high efficiency?

However, this phase out may be a matter of concern to some home owners.  Especially those living in older homes.  There are code regulations for where, and how, a high efficiency furnace can be installed, so replacing an older furnace as of January 1, 2010 may be a costly nightmare.   Not only that, many older homes have undersized duct work, and these furnaces need the capacity for airflow.

So, heads up Canadians!  Do your due diligence now.  Maybe you need to buy a mid efficiany furnace while you still have the chance.

The only way to properly size a furnace is to have a load calculation done.  It could also be called a Manual J, or a heat loss calculation.  A qualified contractor could charge anywhere from $150 – $300, or you can find HVAC Calculator software online and do it yourself.  If you’re mathematically inclined, and have your utility bills for the last year or so, you can do it yourself for free.  Be warned, though!  This isn’t a simple way to do it, and you’ll need some data, like the Heating Degree Days for your area.  You can find out how to do the calculation HERE under Furnace Sizing.  It’s a Canadian site, and in metric, so you’ll also need to do some conversions if you are in the U.S.

You may find some info telling you that all you need to do find out the right furnace size is multiply x number of square feet by x number of BTUs to get your size.  While some of these formulas may take into consideration where you live, they do not factor in your house.  Which is what you want to heat, right?  And there is far more to your house than the number of square feet.  All of the following must be included in any calculation to efficiently size your furnace.  What direction do your windows face?  That will impact the amount of heat your home already gets from the sun.  How old are your windows?  Double/single paned?  Are they insulated?  How well insulated is your house?  Walls, attic and basement?  That’s just a few of the things you need to factor into your equation.  You can download a demo of the HVAC software mentioned above and find out more.

What about just buying the same size furnace you already have?  In some circumstances that may be fine-assuming it was sized right.  If you are replacing a furnace that is 15 or more years old, I wouldn’t recommend it though.  Furnace efficiencies have changed significantly.  Chances are that clunker in your basement is way over sized.

I’ll leave you with an irony.  While the above mentioned method is the only proper way to size a furnace, it’s generally very difficult to find an HVAC contractor that will do it.  It’s a time consuming job, and/or they may not have the software that will help them do it.  But the fact that you are here means you are a smart consumer.  You’re doing your research.  Now don’t settle for anything but the best!