The holiday season is quickly approaching, and along with the tinsel and twinkling lights comes the arrival of Jack Frost. Though the white Springboro winters he creates certainly add to the feeling that the time of good will is here, that chilly weather will likely cause your utility bills to go up. You can help significantly reduce those monthly expenses by using an energy-efficient furnace; Springboro winters can be harsh, so any savings during the gift-giving season are usually welcome. To ensure you get the most bang for your buck from your furnace, find out about what to look out for.

Understanding Furnace AFUE Ratings

The Federal Trade Commission designed annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) ratings to inform you how well any given furnace is able to use the energy in its fuel to warm your home over the period of a year. It's now required that all new furnaces clearly display this rating. A percentage is given to a furnace to indicate how efficient it is. For example, if a furnace has a rating of 70 percent that means that 70 percent of the fuel's energy is utilized to make your Springboro home nice and toasty, while the remaining 30 percent gets wasted through areas such as your chimney. One that has a rating of 90 percent or higher is considered a high-efficiency furnace, and what you should aim to get when shopping for a new one. 

Additionally, you can examine the features that typically come with the different rated furnaces: 

High-efficiency: AFUE 90-98.5 percent
•Condensing flue gases in second heat exchanger
•Combustion is sealed 

Mid-efficiency: AFUE 80-83 percent
•Electronic ignition -- no pilot light 
•Use exhaust fans to control combustion gases and combustion air more effectively 
•Reduced cycling loss due to lighter weight and smaller size
•Flue pipe has small diameter

Low-efficiency: AFUE 56-70 percent
•Pilot light always on
•Natural draft causes the release of combustion gases into your home
•Come with heavy heat exchanger 
  

Our team of expert contractors have been proudly serving Springboro and the surrounding areas since 1969. For more trusty information on AFUE furnace ratings, and other similar topics, please contact us at Tri-County Heating & Cooling. 

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