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1. Uneven Heating Throughout Your Home If certain rooms feel toasty while others stay cold, your furnace may be having trouble distributing heat evenly. This common issue often points to blocked ducts, weak airflow, or a failing blower motor. Uneven heating is an early warning that professional attention is needed. 2. Strange or Loud Furnace … [Read More]

Fuel Availability The simple view of heating fuels is that most homeowners are relatively limited in their options for heating fuels. In the Northeast, the choices are largely fuel oil or electricity, although natural gas is becoming available to more homes. For people in rural areas, heating fuels may be limited to propane and wood. … [Read More]

Central Gas Furnace Terms & Definitions Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE): The Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating, indicates how well a furnace converts energy into usable heat. The rating is expressed as a percentage of the annual output of heat (output rating in Btus — British thermal units, a measure of energy) to the annual … [Read More]

Furnaces and Boilers Most U.S. homes are heated with either furnaces or boilers. Furnaces heat air and distribute the heated air through the house using ducts. Boilers heat water and provide either hot water or steam for heating. Steam is distributed via pipes to steam radiators, and hot water can be distributed via baseboard radiators … [Read More]

Incorrect Sizing Methods It is the installer/contractor’s job to perform the correct sizing calculation for the building. However, many installers only check the “nameplate” (the label on the unit that has the Btu per hour output among other things) of the existing system and sell you one just like it, or even worse, one that’s … [Read More]

Switching Electric Resistance or Steam Heating to Hot Water Heating Electric resistance heating, also called electric baseboard heating, is the cheapest to install and the most expensive to operate, as it is the least efficient source of heat. Unfortunately, upgrading to ducted systems, as discussed below, will involve a significant expense for ducting. Another option … [Read More]