Things to consider when it is time to replace your furnace
- The average life span of furnace is between 18 to 22 years
- An older furnace operating at only 80% efficiency means approximately 40¢ of every dollar is going to the chimney.See chart below.
- Get the right size furnace to achive comfortable and consistent heating in your home.
- Two-stage and Modulating systems can provide more even heat distribution without temperature fluctuations throughout your home
- A variable speed direct current motor (ECM) allows the furnace to operate on a lower fan speed 90% of the time, leading to quitter operation.This can also help reduce your annual electricity bill by approximately $200 to $300/year.
Compare the saving between your old furnace and a new high efficiency furnace
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|
New Furnace | |||
|
Old Furnace
|
Efficiency | 80% | 90% | 96% |
| 50% | $36 | $44 | $50 | |
| 55% | $30 | $38 | $45 | |
| 60% | $24 | $32 | $40 | |
| 80% | -- | $10 | $20 | |
| dollars saved per $100 of fuel cost | ||||
Example: if your old furnace has a 60% efficiency rating,upgrading to a new furnace with 96% efficiency rating could save you $40 for every $100 worth of energy used.
Things to consider when it is time to replace your air conditioner
- The average life expectancy of central air conditioner is from12 to 15 years.
- A 13 SEER unit will deliver approximately 23% energy saving compared to a 10 SEER model and approximately 8% energy savings compared to a 12 SEER models.
- A 12 years old air conditioner has an approximate SEER ratings 7.0 and 8.0, compared with some new models that are twice as efficient. The more efficient unit could pay for itself through decreased utility bills and offer improved reliability and warranty protection.
- If your furnace is the same age as your central air conditioner, consider replacing it at the same time. Improving the efficiency of your furnace will not only assist with improved circulation of coll air but it can also help save on your heating bills during winter months. depending on the age of your furnace, you could save as much as 30% on your heating bill next winter.
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Compare the saving between your old Air Conditioner and a new high efficiency Air Conditioner
New Air Conditioner Old Air Conditioner
SEER 11 12 13 14 16 18 8 $65 $79 $92 $102 $132 $132 9 $39 $53 $66 $76 $93 $106 11 $17 $31 $44 $54 $71 $84 Seasonal Electrical Savings on a 2 Ton A/C Unit at .106¢ / KW Example: if your old air conditioner is operating at 8 SEER, a new unit operating at 14 SEER could save you $102 a year.
Equipment Energy Efficiency Rating
Air Conditioning Efficiency Rating
Manufacturers have a method of rating equipment so the designer and the owner can tell high efficiency from low efficiency at a glance.This rating was originally called the EER (Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating.It measures by dividing the output in BTU/H by the input in watts of power used to produce the output. For Example a system with an output of 36,000 BTU/H with an input of 4,000 W has an EER rating of 9.
36,000 BTU/H ÷ 4,000 W = an EER of 9
The larger the EER rating the more efficient the equipment.When the consumer get the same capacity using less power,the equipments is more efficient.The larger the EER rating, the more efficient the equipment. The EER rating is a steady-state rating and does not account for the time the unit operates before reaching peak efficiency.This operating time has unknown efficiency.It also does not account for shutting the system down at the end of the cycle when the thermostat satisfies.,leaving a cold coil in the duct.The cold coil continues to absorb the heat from the surroundings,not the conditioned space. This picture is not complete using an EER rating system, so a rating of seasonal efficiency has been developed,called Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio (SEER). This rating is tested and modified by a rating agency and includes the start-up and shut down cycles. The government has been encouraging industry to go for equipments 13 SEER and up. Some speculative home builders have a tendency to install the lower price and lower efficiency equipment for quicker sale of the home.The rating agency is the AHRI (Air Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute).Published ratings by AHRI are being listed by manufacturers in their catalogs.
Furnace Efficiency Rating
Furnace effieicny ratings are determined by the amount of heat that is transfered to the air or water. The following factors determine the efficiency of the furnace:
- Type of draft ( Natural Draft or Induced Draft)
- Amount of excess air used in combustion chamber
- Delta T or tempreture difference of the air or water entring versus leaving the other side of heat exchanger
- Flue stack tempreture
The following are furnace classifications and approximate AFUE ratings:
Mid-Efficiency Furnace 78% to 85% AFUE
- Usually induced or forced draft
- No draft hoods
- 20% to 30% excess air
- Delta-T of 45° F ~ 75°F
- Stack tempreture of 275°F ~ 300°F
- Non-condensing
- One heat exchanger
High-Efficiency Furnace 87% to 98% AFUE
- Usually induced or forced draft
- No draft hoods
- 10% excess air
- Delta-T of 35°F ~ 65°F
- Stack tempreture of 110°F ~ 120°F
- Two Heat Exchangers
- Condensing furnace
- Use PVC pipes to avoid corrosion
Heating Air Conditioning Contractor | Forced Air Gas Furnace | Central Air Conditioner | Furnace Humdifier
Variable Speed Brushless DC Motors ECM
Brushless DC motors also known as Electronically Commutated Motors (ECMs, EC motors) are electric powered by direct-current (DC) electricity and having electronic commutation systems, rather than mechanical commutators and brushes. DC motors are more efficient than their AC counter parts and they last much longer.
Electronically Commutated Motors has been in commercial use since 1962.In the past 10 years these motors have been integrated into High Efficiency Gas Furnaces. Both inducer fan motors (venter motor) and blower fan motors are Brushless DC Motors (ECM). Brush-less DC motors offer several advantages over brushed DC motors, including more torque per weight, more torque per watt to increase efficiency, increased reliability, reduced noise, longer lifetime (no brush and commutator erosion), elimination of ionizing sparks from the commutator, and overall reduction of electromagnetic interference (EMI). Because the windings are supported by the motor housing, they can be cooled by conduction, requiring no airflow inside the motor for cooling. This means that the motor's internals parts can be entirely enclosed and protected from dirt, dust or other foreign matter.
In addition, ECMs would allow continuous circulation with no significant increase in utility bills. Continuous air circulation provides even distribution of fresh air and temperatures all around your home, and is especially important in homes that use the furnace fan to distribute fresh air instead of HRV or ERV units. ECM’s can offer air circulation, comfort, efficiency and health.
Choosing a high efficiency gas furnace equipped with brushless DC motor would save you money both on hydro and gas bills. In order to take full advantage of this technology you have to consider many key factors like proper duct size and regular furnace maintenance. Tight or improper duct work would effect the ECM performance dramatically by making the motor to over work in order to maintain constant air flow through your home. Also dirty or blocked furnace air filter could create the same effect on the ECMs.Furnace gas consumption could also increase, in case of improper airflow into the furnace.Goodman GMVC95 Furnaces and GMVM96 Furmaces are equipped with beushless DC Motors (ECM)
Heating Contractors | Forced Air Gas Furnace | Furnace Humidifiers
Air Conditioner Compressors
The compressor is heart of the refrigeration system. A compressor can be considered as a vapor pump.This creates refrigerant flow from the low-pressure side to high-pressure side.All compressors in refrigeration systems perform this function by compressing the vapor refrigerant. Two types of refrigerant are common in residential and light commercial air conditioning systems : R-22 (Freon) and Environmentally Friendly R-410A (Puron) refrigerants.
The most common compressors used in residential and light commercial air conditioning and refrigeration are the Reciprocating,the Rotary and the Scroll.The Scroll compressors is one the latest compressors to be developed.It has a stationary part that looks like a coil spring and a moving part that matches and meshes with the stationary part.This movable part orbits inside the stationary part and squeezed the vapor from low pressure side to high pressure side of system between movable and stationary parts. Several stages of compressions are taking place in the scroll compressor at the same time,making it a very smooth running compressor with few moving parts. Recent advances in computer aided manufacturing techniques have enabled the scroll compressors to gain popularity in air conditioning and light refrigeration systems.Scroll Compressors are almost silent during operation and easy to maintain.Scroll Compressors are either single or two stage.Most residential air conditioners up to 14 SEER are equipped with single stage scroll compressors.Two stage scroll compressors are super efficient and designed to adjust the cooling capacity base on the heat load of your home.These compressors are wired with Two-Speed Condenser Fan Motor to reduce the energy consumption base on compressor working stages.
Goodman DSXC16 is equipped with Two-Stage scroll compressors. Because of reliability of these compressors,most manufacturers like Goodman Heating and Air Conditioning Company offer lifetime compressor warranty on Scroll Compressors.
The Scroll Compressor provides high efficiency because of the following:
- It requires no valves; which consequently, there are no valve compression losses
- The suction and discharge locations are separate, which reduces the heat transfer between the suction and discharge gas.There is less temperature difference between the various stages of compression occurring in the compressor
- There is no clearance volume providing re-expansion gas as in reciprocating compressors
- Few moving parts make Scroll Compressors to operate silently
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