Getting the best quality heating for your home requires balancing out a number of factors. One of the most important to consider is how efficiently a heater coverts its energy source into the heat that enters your home. Understanding the measurements used to gauge a heater’s efficiency is key to knowing what kind of savings on your bills to expect from a particular model. You can also use this knowledge to achieve a better understanding of how efficiently your current heater operates.
There is a large amount of technical information involved in measuring heating efficiency, but in this post we will simplify it to the basics that will mean the most to you as a homeowner. If you want more information, or if you require professional heating service in Armona, CA, contact Shaw’s Air Conditioning. We are about to enter our tenth year providing quality heating installation, repair, and maintenance.
The majority of heating systems, such as furnaces and boilers, use a percentage rating to measure efficiency: “annual fuel utilization efficiency” or AFUE. This represents the amount of fuel energy—oil, natural gas, propane, electricity—the heating system converts into heat, measured over a year. For example, a furnace with an AFUE rating of 90% generates 90 units of heat (measured in BTUs, “British Thermal units) for every 100 units of fuel that it burns. Conventional firewood has an AFUE of 45%-55%, but almost all modern heaters score above 78%. Some of the top-of-the-line gas furnaces score in the 90s, and technology continues to advance every year to manufacture heaters with less energy waste.
Heat pumps use a different rating system than furnaces and other heaters. Because they operate as both heaters and air conditioners, they have two different ratings: HSPF and SEER. The rating for heat efficiency is HSPF, which stands for “heating seasonal performance factor.” This is the ratio of the total amount of heat required over a single season to the energy consumed in watt-hours. The ratio is expressed as a whole number; the higher the number, the more efficiently the heat pump uses electricity. The best heat pumps will have an HSPF of around 10.
Knowing the AFUE or HSPF of a heating system will help guide you in picking a new model for your home, or deciding if you want to replace an older, less efficient model. Keep in mind that just because your heater has a high AFUE (or HSPF) doesn’t mean it actually lives up to it: without repairs or regular maintenance, a heater will start to work inefficiently.
When you are interested in getting a new heater installed, or if you want to see if your current heater is doing the best job for you, bring in professionals like those at Shaw’s Air Conditioning to guide you. Efficiency is a major part of choosing a heater, but it isn’t the only part, and with the help of experts, you will get much better heating services in Armona, CA this winter.