{"id":200,"date":"2021-09-13T16:08:04","date_gmt":"2021-09-13T16:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wplumbing.com\/Summit-Plumber\/?p=200"},"modified":"2021-09-13T16:08:39","modified_gmt":"2021-09-13T16:08:39","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-high-efficiency-furnaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wplumbing.com\/Summit-Plumber\/heating\/what-you-need-to-know-about-high-efficiency-furnaces\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need To Know About High-Efficiency Furnaces"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Furnace\"Thanks to a greater awareness of the human impact on our planet and its environment, many of today\u2019s Frisco homeowners are opting for high-efficiency furnaces in their homes. And though most homeowners know that high-efficiency furnaces use less energy than their old-fashioned cousins, many don\u2019t fully understand what \u201chigh-efficiency\u201d actually means. This guide from the pros at Wieronski Plumbing & Heating addresses many of the common questions consumers have about energy-efficient furnaces.<\/strong> Ultimately, this understanding will help consumers like you make better, more informed choices when it\u2019s time to install a new furnace<\/a>.<\/p>\n

AFUE And What It Means?<\/h2>\n

\u201cAFUE\u201d stands for \u201cannual fuel utilization efficiency.\u201d The higher the AFUE number of a furnace, the more efficiently it delivers heat to a home. The more efficient the furnace is, the less you\u2019ll pay for your energy bills. All modern new furnaces display an AFUE rating so that consumers can make an informed choice. AFUE is represented by a percentage. No furnace is capable of operating at 100% efficiency because, let\u2019s face it, nothing in your home works perfectly. However, a few models come very close, operating at up to 98% efficiency.<\/p>\n

Furnaces manufactured prior to 20 years ago were not very efficient. Part of the problem was that they weren\u2019t well sealed. Another problem was that of exhaust. Old-fashioned furnaces were vented through a chimney and a great deal of heat was lost along with the waste gases that were exhausted to the outside. Improved technology has led to better construction and tighter sealing on domestic furnaces. Furnaces sold today in the United States must, by law, be at least 90% efficient or higher. Today\u2019s high-efficiency furnaces are so efficient they don\u2019t need a chimney– instead, they are exhausted through a small pipe.<\/p>\n

The Energy Star Furnace<\/h2>\n

In addition to an AFUE rating, a high-efficiency furnace may also receive an Energy Star label. Energy Star is a government-developed program ranking all kinds of home appliances by their ability to deliver results with minimal energy consumption and waste.<\/p>\n

Unlike an AFUE rating, Energy Star is not denoted by a number but rather by a particular number of stars (somewhere between one and six, depending on the product). An appliance must meet government criteria to receive the Energy Star label. Some of the criteria used to judge a furnace\u2019s energy efficiency include:<\/p>\n