A professional repair of your damaged home furnace can protect your family from risks like explosions and carbon monoxide leaks. The furnace’s efficiency can also improve, reducing your home’s energy consumption and related bills. If you don’t want to incur furnace repair costs, consider buying the right-sized one. Here is how to choose the right size furnace for your home:
Determine Your Home’s Size
Understanding your home’s size can help determine the British Thermal Unit (BTU) ratings your new furnace should have. If your home is large, you could need a large-sized furnace with a higher BTU capacity for adequate heat production. The first step to determining each of your room’s square footage is measuring their width and length, and multiplying the two. Add the determined square footage of all your home’s rooms to get the total home size that needs furnace heating. If your ceilings are too high or low, adjust their heights to get the ideal square footage.
Consider Your Home’s Features
Features like ceilings, doors, and windows can determine how the furnace heat gets retained or distributed in your home. If your home’s features allow more heat to get retained and appropriately distributed, consider a medium-sized furnace for comfort. Homes with many windows without proper insulation can lose more heat faster, prompting the need for large-sized furnaces. Exterior walls, closed floor plans, efficient ductwork, and low ceilings can minimize heat loss, making medium or small-sized furnaces more useful.
Understand Your Climate Zone
Large furnaces would be more appropriate in a colder climate than in a mild one. Furnaces with small sizes and low BTU ratings can be suitable for homes in warmer regions. A proper-sized furnace for your climate won’t overwork when heating your house indoors, helping it to last longer.
Check the Furnace’s Efficiency
The higher the efficiency of a furnace, the more heat capacity it can produce. A furnace with high efficiency doesn’t have to be large-sized to meet your home’s heating needs. The best way to determine the energy efficiency of a furnace is to calculate the percentage of fuel units heated over a given time. This is known as the furnace’s annual fuel utilization efficiency, which also represents the furnace’s performance. Calculating the amount of excess air the furnace releases or the fuel gas composition can help determine the unit’s heat output.
Determine Your Home’s Age
A large furnace can be suitable if your home is old without proper insulation. Aged homes with low construction standards like leaky air ducts or improperly sealed windows require large-sized furnaces for adequate heating. Adding thick insulation to your old home’s attic, walls, basements, and roof can reduce heat loss, saving you the cost of buying a large-sized furnace. A large furnace can be suitable if you don’t have money to repair your old home.
Consult an Expert
A professional heating and cooling company or contractor can help you know various furnaces’ BTU ratings, enabling you to choose the right sized one. The contractor can assess your home’s size and heating needs and advise you on the ideal furnace size to choose. An expert can calculate a furnace’s annual fuel utilization efficiency and determine its correct size for you. They can also install your furnace correctly and offer maintenance services for its optimal performance.
Signs You Need Furnace Repair Services
Contacting a professional HVAC contractor for repair services can be necessary immediately after your furnace starts to leak water. Water leaks can indicate that your furnace has a blocked vent pipe, cracked condensate pump, clogged filter, or leaking drain pan. A leaking furnace can cause mold and mildew to grow in your home, increasing the risks of respiratory problems. Hire furnace repair services if you notice rotten egg odors, musty, burning rubber or plastic, or chemical smells. Rotten egg odors indicate that the furnace may be leaking carbon monoxide, while rubber or plastic smells indicate that the furnace may be overheating. Your furnace will also need repair when it starts producing rattling, repeated clicking, booming, and whistling noises.
Hire a Furnace Repair Professional
If you need a new furnace, an expert can help you find an ideal size and correctly install it in your home. Evaluating your home’s size, age, insulation, and climate zone can also help you choose the right size furnace. Contact a professional heating and cooling company if you’re looking for quality furnace repair services.
