| With today's rising energy demands, volatile | | | | have a 90%+ AFUE furnace installed in your |
| financial & housing markets and a constant | | | | home. |
| potential of increased living costs looming over our | | | | Some contractors are afraid to install a 90%+ |
| shoulders, catching a financial break anywhere we | | | | AFUE furnace in your home due to lack of training |
| can as a consumer should be of keen interest to | | | | and an inability to successfully repair furnaces in |
| everybody. 90%+ Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency | | | | the first place. One legitimate complaint and or |
| (AFUE) furnaces may easily provide the solution | | | | criticism that was true in the past, that these |
| and can easily off set a household bill or two with | | | | contractors would make, is that parts were more |
| all of the energy being saved by this furnace in | | | | expensive on a 90%+ AFUE furnace and why on |
| contrast to the conventional 60-80% AFUE | | | | earth would you want an expensive repair bill |
| furnace that is more than likely currently in your | | | | they would ask. That all came to an end when |
| home even as you read this article. 90%+ AFUE | | | | Rheem manufacturing designed their new line of |
| furnaces have a 2 heat exchanger design to | | | | 95% AFUE 2 stage furnaces. All parts selected to |
| avoid wasting heat, in the past the product was | | | | make the Rheem 95% AFUE 2 stage furnace |
| problematic when it was first developed in the | | | | work are of quality durable design, but cost |
| 90's, but has since been improved to near | | | | effective to repair after the furnace warranty |
| perfection today by most manufacturers to be a | | | | expires. |
| very reliable product and if sized properly and | | | | This would not be the case with the expensive |
| installed properly will save an incredible amount of | | | | Carrier induced draft motors and chip boards or |
| money on the utility bill that you can capitalize on | | | | the expensive chip boards used by Trane and |
| year in and year out. | | | | American Standard or all parts by Lennox being |
| The two heat exchanger design is the key | | | | of higher expense in their product lines of 90%+ |
| feature that allows a 90%+ AFUE furnace to | | | | AFUE furnaces. Furthermore, Rheem realized that |
| operate so efficiently. A primary heat exchanger | | | | the primary heat exchanger was the most |
| handles the ignition of the furnace and the natural | | | | expensive part of the furnace, so they decided to |
| gas fire (propane, kerosene, heating oil or what | | | | make a primary heat exchanger tougher than any |
| ever the furnace burns) of the furnace burners. | | | | other manufacturers primary heat exchanger. |
| As the burners are engaged inside of the heat | | | | The Rheem primary heat exchanger is |
| exchanger, the heat exchanger gets hot so that | | | | constructed of stainless steel and is of a tubular |
| when the furnace blower turns on, forced air | | | | design with virtually no seam points present on |
| travels over the hot heat exchanger to allow for | | | | the part, kind of like a car tail pipe, which rarely |
| heat transfer to occur, sending warm air through | | | | breaks. Eliminating seam points on the heat |
| your air ducts and to ultimately heat the air in | | | | exchanger increases the life span of the part. On |
| your home. With a conventional 60-80% AFUE | | | | the contrary, the Lennox, Carrier, Trane and |
| furnace that is all that is present for a heat | | | | American Standard heat exchangers are a |
| exchanger, but through brilliant engineering furnace | | | | cheaper clam shell design that is no where near as |
| manufacturers realized that flue gases always | | | | strong as the tubular designed heat exchanger. |
| creates hot moisture that is typically wasted out | | | | The clam shell designed heat exchanger is |
| of the flue pipe and so they decided to capture | | | | designed to last a certain amount of years, but |
| this free energy by designing a better product. So | | | | once enough time goes by these heat |
| engineers went to work to produce the two heat | | | | exchangers typically fail due to 4 sides of crimped |
| exchanger furnace and incorporated a secondary | | | | seams separating the heat exchanger, leading to |
| heat exchanger that looks like a coil to capture | | | | part failure. |
| the hot flue gas moisture to re use this heat in a | | | | Not only is the Rheem 90%+ AFUE line of |
| more efficient appliance, rather than wasting this | | | | furnaces tougher and built with cost effective |
| heat out of the flue pipe. | | | | parts in mind, but they even went as far as |
| Remarkably after 70 years of relatively little | | | | ensuring that all Rheem furnaces operate at a |
| change in the heating market in terms of how a | | | | vastly lower decibal range making the Rheem |
| furnace basically operated, a vastly more efficient | | | | furnace the quietest class of furnaces in the |
| appliance emerged on the market. Two stage | | | | residential market today. Carrier, Trane, American |
| technology emerged as well, where engineers | | | | Standard and Lennox furnaces will work and if |
| realized that a furnace did not necessarily have to | | | | sized and installed properly will last for many |
| high fire gas at all times to effectively heat your | | | | years, however when they break, you will surly |
| home, due to varying weather outside of your | | | | pay a pretty penny to get them fixed. |
| home. The two stage gas valve emerged to | | | | When you call out an HVAC company or |
| where a low fire predominately occurs on | | | | contractor to perform an in home estimate to |
| temperate (less cold) winter days saving an | | | | install your 90%+ AFUE furnace, make sure that |
| additional 25-35% on gas consumption and then | | | | they are evaluating your whole house. Proper |
| when the weather gets real cold outside the | | | | furnace sizing will involve an estimator to evaluate |
| furnace can engage a high fire to ensure that the | | | | wall insulation type, attic insulation type, home |
| appliance can keep up with heating your home | | | | exposure, window type, slab type, outdoor |
| only when high fire is truly needed, to ensure that | | | | landscape, fire places present, duct sizing, how |
| the homeowner gets the best of both worlds; | | | | many people occupies the space as well as a few |
| saving money and staying comfortable. | | | | other factors too. |
| A conventional furnace is missing these features, | | | | Be leery of the estimator that is in and out of |
| because the conventional furnace can only fire in | | | | your home in 30 minutes or less, because getting |
| one stage and just wastes flue gas moisture out | | | | it right during the estimate phase will have a huge |
| of the flue pipe. The venting of a 90%+ AFUE | | | | effect on achieving maximum efficiency of the |
| furnace is typically done with PVC piping material | | | | furnace and your over all indoor comfort for |
| and most often is vented to the exterior side of | | | | many years to come. Most of the estimates that |
| a home. The 90%+ AFUE furnace burns and | | | | reputable heating and air conditioning companies |
| exhausts vastly more cleaner gases than a | | | | perform may require between 1-2 hours to |
| conventional furnace effectively lowering | | | | gather all necessary data, answer customer |
| emissions as well, so you can feel good about | | | | questions and to write an up front price to do the |
| doing your part in the environment when you | | | | work. |