A new furnace is an investment in your home that you should be happy with for years to come, but unfortunately some homeowners simply opt for the cheapest or the largest furnace, thinking they can save money with a cheap furnace or that a bigger furnace will be better for their home. Before you buy a new furnace, note a few tips for choosing the right model for your home.

Choosing the right size

Bigger is not always better for a furnace, as a larger and more powerful model might blow lots of warm air into your home so that the temperature rises very quickly, and this can be uncomfortable. The temperature may then drop just as quickly and your furnace cycles back on again. A more moderately sized furnace will blow warm air into the home slowly so that you feel comfortable, and this also allows the heat to permeate the walls, floors, and other surfaces; in turn, your home won't get cold again so quickly.

Furnace sizes aren't really the overall size of the unit but its power, and this is measured in what is called BTUs or British Thermal Units. These BTUs can range from 40,000 to 100,000 or so for residential furnaces. You can note a chart that tells you the recommended size for the size of your home, but be sure to take into account your home's insulation; if you have old, poor-quality insulation, you'll want a more powerful furnace. If you live in an area with very mild winters and your home gets lots of direct sunlight, you might make do with a smaller unit than what's recommended.

AFUE

The AFUE of a furnace refers to its Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. This refers to how efficient a furnace is, meaning how much energy it uses to actually heat your home versus the energy needed to run other parts of the furnace. The AFUE of a furnace is measured in percentages; the higher the percentage, the more energy used for heat and less that is wasted. A furnace with a higher AFUE may be more expensive to purchase, but it often means less cost to operate over time.

Maintenance

Note how easy it is to remove the face plate of a furnace and access the fan and belts; if you can easily reach them, you can clean them every year on your own and not need to hire someone to manage this task for you. A furnace with these parts hidden to one side or behind a circuit board may require a contractor to maintain every year, and this can be costly. Contact a company like Kintore Airconditioning for more information.