Home Repair Wisdom & Know-How by Fine Homebuilding

Author:Fine Homebuilding
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2017-05-15T16:00:00+00:00

Heating & Cooling

Contents

Getting to Know Your Furnace

Getting the Mechanicals Right

Ground-Source Heat Pumps

Is a Heat Pump Right for You?

When Ductless Minisplits Make Sense

Ducting HRVs and ERVs

Upgrade to a Tankless Water Heater

Getting to Know Your Furnace

By Martin Holladay

Many different appliances can be used to heat a house, including boilers, water heaters, heat pumps, and woodstoves. According to the Department of Energy (DOE), however, most homes in the United States are heated by forcedwair furnaces.

A forced-air furnace is connected to ducts that deliver heated air to registers throughout the house. Different types of furnaces are manufactured to burn a variety of fuels, including natural gas, propane, oil, and firewood. The most common furnace fuel in the United States is natural gas.

Even though the smallest available furnaces are often too big for a high-performance home (see “Heating Options for a Small Home,” Fine Homebuilding #217), furnaces still have virtues that are hard to ignore. They are inexpensive, widely available, and easily serviced by local HVAC contractors. For many North American homes, they are a logical way to supply space heat.

A furnace is only as good as its installation, though, and research has shown that new furnaces and their distribution systems (ducts) often aren’t sized correctly. According to a 2013 report prepared for the DOE, the problem is even more widespread when it comes to replacement furnaces. An oversize furnace often costs more than a right-size furnace, and improper duct installation results in reduced operating efficiency.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.