We certainly enjoyed a longer than usual stint of fair weather, but it looks like the cold is finally settling in for the season. Winter tends to be the most expensive season for most households thanks to heating costs. This is why knowing the efficiency of your furnace or boiler is important. If you have recently purchased a new furnace or boiler, or are getting ready to, you want to pay close attention to a particular rating that will tell you what kind of efficiency to expect from your heating system: the AFUE number.
AFUE is an acronym that stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. It is a rating expressed in a percentage that tells you how much fuel a particular heater uses for energy and how much is lost to combustion byproducts. For instance, a gas furnace with an AFUE of 89% tells you that 89% of the gas it consumes is used to heat your home; the other 11% is lost to combustion byproducts, aka, the gases that are expelled from your heater’s flue. A common mistake made with AFUE ratings is that they tell you a certain heating system will heat your home better than another. This is not what the rating means. What AFUE tells you is that a certain heating system will heat your home the same as another, but use less fuel to do so. That is the key to AFUE, and the key to keeping your home as energy efficient as possible.
This would seem like the logical choice, but the better the AFUE rating, the more expensive the initial costs for that heater. It’s important to balance the long-term energy savings with the initial costs of a heater, and our experts can help with this.
If you want help assessing how your furnace or boiler’s AFUE rating affects you and your home in Denver, call the heating pros at Bell Plumbing and Heating today!
We’re ready to answer your questions or schedule your appointment, call now or book online!
