Raised Efficiency Standards Have Homeowners Spooked

Many homeowners in the northern states anxiously await a decision from the courts about the new HVAC Efficiency Standards. Back in 2009, the U.S. Department of Energy partnered up with HVAC professionals to find ways to conserve energy and in the process they created efficiency ratings. These ratings encouraged HVAC manufacturing companies to develop more efficient equipment.

The DOE created an efficiency rating system for furnaces, which is called an AFUE rating. AFUE is an acronym for annual fuel utilization efficiency. This rating determines how efficient a furnace is by calculating how much fuel it consumes and then comparing it to the fuel or heat that is wasted while the furnace is in operation.

Now several years later, the hard work of the DOE and its partners has finally paid off. Homeowners can now purchase a condensing furnace that has an AFUE rating of 90. When compared to older combustion furnaces that have an AFUE rating of 78 or lower, it is easy to see why the DOE wants to enforce the HVAC Efficiency rating of 90 in northern states.

The condensing furnace has been tested and determined as only wasting approximately ten percent of the fuel it uses while operating. After calculating the total annual cost of operating a furnace, wasting only ten percent of the fuel is phenomenal. Especially when compared to the ratings of older furnaces with AFUE ratings as low as 60. Overall, homeowners are very excited about the new efficient condensing furnace, until they realize the difficulty of installing it in their homes.

A condensing furnace uses a different type of venting system, which means homeowners will have additional expenses. The owners of attached homes such as a townhouse, which have very limited access to exterior walls, will be burdened with the cost of modifications for the vents. When adding the cost for modifications along with new vents and a new furnace, the expenses become a huge burden.

Concerned HVAC professionals defended homeowners from this financial burden by opposing the enforcement of the new AFUE 90 efficiency standard that was scheduled to be enforced in 2013. To learn more about condensing furnaces and how the new efficiency standards will affect you, consult with a local HVAC expert today.