Heating Systems Installation
Furnace is often referred to as FAU, Heater and Central heating.
Gas furnaces use natural gas to heat the home and electricity to cool the home.
Air handler and heat pumps use electricity to heat and cool the home.
Low Nox Furnaces are now required by law. What is Low Nox?
NOx is an abbreviation used to describe Nitrogen Oxide, a family of reactive and toxic greenhouse gases. When fuel is burned at high heat, whether it's in the engines of automobiles or in the heat exchanger of your furnace, boiler, or water heater, nitrogen oxide gases are emitted.
Is NOx harmful?
Yes. Given the significant impact on the environment from the brownish gas, the EPA has put forth regulations to help limit exposure to one of the most prevalent forms of NOx called nitrogen dioxide, or NO2. According to the EPA, nitrogen oxides are "chief causes of concern" because NOx contributes to:
- ground-level ozone
- respiratory problems
- acid rain and smog
- low water quality
- toxic chemicals
- global warming
Emissions Regulations
If you live in California or Texas, any heating equipment you buy will need to conform to local EPA standards as set forth by the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The standards may change depending on the size and type of heating appliance and where you live.
Ductless Mini Split Heat Pump system
Like to better understand how a ductless mini-split system works? WATCH this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwPvcsSDqM8
The price to install a single zone ductless mini-split is $3,500.00 and up. The installation takes about 1 day.
If you live in a large home but only occupy 1 bedroom, I recommend installing a single zone ductless system in your bedroom.
This way, you don't have to run the central air system to heat or cool just 1 room.
Saves money on electric bill because the efficiency is amazingly high.
They are ultra quiet and you will prolong the life of your central heating and air system.
Furnace Location and descriptions
Furnaces located in the garage or hall closet or normally upflow furnaces. Air flows upward Furnaces located in the attic are normally horizontal furnaces. Air flows horizontally Furnaces in Mobile homes are normally downflow furnaces. Air flows down.
Types of furnaces:
A single-stage furnace runs at full capacity all of the time and does not consider the current airflow in your home or the outside temperature when working to reach your thermostat’s temperature setting.
A two-stage furnace has low and high stages of operation. During the low stage, the furnace uses as little energy as possible to heat your home. When the furnace is no longer able to meet that temperature, it ramps itself up to the high stage, during which it uses more energy. On average, a two-stage furnace runs at 25% of capacity the majority of the time.
A variable-speed furnace contains a computerized blower motor chip that monitors the airflow inside your home to determine how much heat to generate and release. Because of this monitoring, the furnace is able to operate as efficiently as possible by not continuously releasing unnecessarily heated air.
Split system: The furnace is in one location while the AC is in another location.
Package unit: Furnace and AC are all in 1 unit. Normally located on the roof of a home.
There are gas/electric and heat pump package units.
FURNACE EFFICIENCY AFUE (Average Fuel Utilization Efficiency)
AFUE is the standard measurement of efficiency for gas furnaces. Given in percentages, this number tells you how much of your fuel is used to heat your home and how much fuel is wasted. The higher the AFUE rating, the greater the efficiency. If a furnace has a rating of 80% AFUE rating, the furnace converts 80% of the fuel that you supply to heat — the other 20% is lost out of the chimney. The most efficient furnaces in the industry have AFUE ratings of up to 96.7%.If you have an older furnace (with an AFUE of approximately 60%), you could save up to 40% on your heating bills by replacing it with a new high-efficiency furnace! The cost to replace your old, inefficient furnace is paid back through lower utility bills.
Installing a filter rack under your furnace allows for easy filter changing, which in return will encourage filter changes.
KEEPING YOUR FILTER CLEAN is one of the most important things that you can do to maximize the life of your system and to help keep repairs to a minimum.
