Furnace Efficiency Ratings and What They Mean

Published on January 21, 2017

There are several things to consider when you buy a new furnace:

How much is your budget for a new furnace?
How much are you looking to spend on monthly heating bills?
Do you have anyone in the home with respiratory ailments?
What size system will you need to heat your size of home?

But have you ever considered your furnace efficiency rating? Do you understand what it means?

Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning is here to help clear up any confusion with what the furnace efficiency rating is and what it means for your home and your budget.

The furnace efficiency rating helps calculate how much energy you will need to heat your home and, in the long run, how much it will cost you. Simply put, the higher your furnace efficiency rating the less energy your furnace needs to heat your home.

The AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating is the number that reflects how much heat the furnace will provide compared to the amount of energy used to produce the heat. An example, if your heating system has a AFUE rating of 80%, this means 20% of energy used is lost and 80% actually becomes heat for your home.

Remember that this rating does not consider the potential heat lost through leaking or poorly installed duct work or attic insulation. The duct work in every home is different – some good quality, some substandard, so the AFUE rating does not include this in their rating. If you worry that your furnace or duct system is not energy efficient, give Service Experts a call today and we will give you a free in-home analysis and help you determine how much more energy and money you could be saving each month.

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