Gas furnaces

Gas furnace technology has progressed by leaps and bounds during the past decade. Efficiencies have jumped from about 65% to as high as 95%.

Most gas furnaces have the same basic components: A gas burner where fuel is burned, an ignition device to start the fire, one or more heat exchangers where the heat from combustion gases is transferred to the house air, a circulation blower to circulate air to and from the house, and a small second induction blower to draw flue gases through the furnace.

As the hot exhaust gases from the gas burner pass through the heat exchanger, they are cooled by the circulating house air which carries the heat

Electric furnaces

Electric furnaces contain an electric resistance heating coil that simply converts electricity directly into heat. The coil is mounted in a cabinet with a circulation blower. Except for a small amount of heat loss through the cabinet, nearly all the heat from the coil is transferred to the circulating house air. The efficiency of an electric furnace is close to 100%.

Energy Star

To cut heating costs and help protect our environment, consider installing an Energy Star heating system in your home.