Efficient furnace performance depends on more than efficiency ratings. Home heating systems are made up of several elements, each of which contributes to (or detracts from) energy-efficient performance.

Your forced-air heating system relies on three main components, the thermostat, the furnace and the ductwork:

• Thermostat. Your thermostat detects indoor temperature fluctuations. If the temperature around the thermostat falls below your settings, the thermostat tells your furnace to cycle on. Thermostats come in manual and programmable models. Programmable units remove the need for manual adjustments. Once you set a daily or weekly program, you can essentially forget it. You can save energy by setting the temperature slightly lower when your house is empty during the day, or when everyone is asleep. Set it to heat the house in the morning before everyone wakes up or in the afternoon before everyone gets home.
• Furnace. Furnaces are the cores of home heating systems. This is where your indoor air is heated and filtered. Air is delivered to the system via return supply ducts in your home. The heat exchanger, the heart of the furnace, heats the air. It takes energy created from burning fuel and attributes it to the air. The efficiency at which a heat exchanger can do this basically determines the efficiency rating of your furnace. Once the air is heated, the blower forces it through the filter and into the ductwork.
• Ductwork. Ductwork plays a big role in efficiency, because it controls airflow. The ductwork should be designed to handle the precise amount of air your furnace produces and to cater to each room of the house specifically. If your ductwork is improperly designed, leaky or poorly insulated, you could lose a great deal of energy — as much as 20 percent, according to Energy Star. In this case, it won’t matter how efficient your furnace is. You’ll be less comfortable and pay more on utilities.

Call Comfort Services Heating & Air Conditioning for home heating systems that will meet your needs and save energy. We’re proud to serve the Raleigh region.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information about home heating systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide.

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