Everyone would like to hope that their furnace or heater is energy efficient, but how do you know if you really have an energy efficient heater? Is there a way to find out? The winter months can be quite harsh in St. Louis, and you cannot do without your heating system. But if you don’t have an energy efficient heater, your heating bills could be a nightmare. That is why we are sharing some quick tips with you so you can tell if your heater is energy efficient. And if it is not, you can take remedial steps and carry out HVAC maintenance in order to boost furnace efficiency.
If your heating system is showing signs of trouble or you determine that your furnace is not as energy efficient as you would like, the HVAC experts at Galmiche & Sons can help. Call us at 314-993-1110.
Do You Have an Energy Efficient Heater
To understand if your heater is energy efficient, here are three things you should to do.
Know What Your AFUE Is
AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. It tells you how efficiently your furnace burns fuel to produce heat. This efficiency is calculated by dividing the heat output of the furnace by the total energy input to it. It is obtained as a percentage. So your heater’s AFUE indicates how efficiently it works and how much fuel it consumes throughout the year. The higher the AFUE rating of your heater, the more efficient it is.
New HVAC systems will usually have a high AFUE rating of around 90%, while older ones can have a rating as low as 55 or 56%. You can look at the AFUE rating of your heater mentioned in the manual. But over time, this rating goes down. So, to get an actual value, you might need the help of a professional heating technician.
Determine the Age of Your Heater
To tell whether you have an energy efficient heater, the simplest thing to find out is the age of your HVAC system. The older it gets, the less energy efficient it becomes. This is inevitable as the system undergoes a lot of wear and tear over time. The life of any HVAC system is usually 10 to 15 years. But if you make it a point to carry out regular maintenance of your HVAC unit, you could extend it to around 20 years.
Regular maintenance may keep your system relatively energy efficient, but after a point, it is bound to lose efficiency. In fact, the AFUE rating reduces by 5% every year in older units. So if your HVAC unit is older than 15 years, you might want to consider replacing it with a new one.
Check Your Heating Bills for Energy Efficiency
The most glaring evidence of a less efficient heater is your energy bills during winter. If your energy bills tend to shoot up during the winter compared to the rest of the year, it is most likely that you do not have an energy efficient heater. Check your energy bills over the past few months, and if you see a significant difference since the time you started using the heater, it is proof enough.
Hire a St. Louis HVAC Professional Who Can Offer a Solution to All Your Heating Woes
If you have a feeling that your heating system needs a thorough checkup or a replacement, you should get help from a reliable HVAC contractor. In St. Louis, Galmiche & Sons has been in the HVAC repair and maintenance business since 1950.
Get in touch with our heating and air conditioning experts to learn how we can help you.
