Forced-Air Heating Systems and Boilers

1. Many U.S. homes are warmed with either forced-air central heaters or boilers. Heating systems heat air and disperse the heated air through your house using ducts. Boilers heat water, and offer either hot water or steam for heating. Steam is distributed by means of pipes to steam radiators, and warm water can be dispersed by means of baseboard radiators or radiant floor systems, or can heat up air through a coil. Steam boilers run at a higher temperature than warm water boilers, and are inherently less efficient, but high-efficiency versions of all kinds of heating systems and boilers are presently readily available. Understanding the Performance Score of Furnaces and Boilers A main furnace or boiler's effectiveness is measured by yearly fuel utilization effectiveness (AFUE). The Federal Trade Commission needs new heating systems or boilers to display their AFUE so customers can compare heating efficiencies of numerous designs. AFUE is a measure of how effective the home appliance remains in converting the energy in its fuel to heat over the course of a common year. Particularly, AFUE is the ratio of annual heat output of the heating system or boiler compared to the total annual nonrenewable fuel source energy taken in by a furnace or boiler. An AFUE of 90% indicates that 90% of the energy in the fuel becomes heat for the home and the other 10% leaves up the chimney and in other places. AFUE does not consist of the heat losses of the duct system or piping, which can be as much as 35% of the energy for output of the heating system when ducts are situated in the attic, garage, or other partially conditioned or unconditioned area. You can identify and compare a system's effectiveness by not just its AFUE but likewise by its equipment features. Old, low-efficiency heating unit: - Natural draft that creates a flow of combustion gases - Constant pilot light - Heavy heat exchanger - 56% to 70% AFUE.

2. Mid-efficiency heating systems: - Exhaust fan controls the flow of combustion air and combustion gases more precisely - Electronic ignition (no pilot light). - Compact size and lighter weight to decrease cycling losses. - Small-diameter flue pipeline. - 80% to 83% AFUE. High-efficiency heater:. - Condensing flue gases in a 2nd heat exchanger for additional efficiency. - Sealed combustion. - 90% to 98.5% AFUE. An all-electric heating system or boiler has no flue loss through a chimney. The AFUE ranking for an all-electric furnace or boiler is in between 95% and 100%. The lower worths are for units set up outdoors due to the fact that they have higher coat heat loss. However, despite their high effectiveness, the higher cost of electrical energy in many parts of the country makes all-electric furnaces or boilers an uneconomic choice. If you have an interest in electric heating, consider setting up a heatpump system. Retrofitting Your Heating System or Boiler. Heaters and boilers can be retrofitted to increase their effectiveness. These upgrades improve the safety and performance of otherwise sound, older systems. The costs of retrofits must be thoroughly weighed versus the expense of a new boiler or heating system, specifically if replacement is most likely within a couple of years or if you want to switch to a various system for other factors, such as adding cooling. If you choose to replace your heating system, you'll have the chance to install devices that includes the most energy-efficient heating technologies offered. Other retrofitting alternatives that can improve a system's energy efficiency include installing programmable thermostats, upgrading ductwork in forced-air systems, and adding zone control for hot-water systems, a choice gone over in Heat Distribution Systems. Changing Your Heater or Boiler. Although older heater and boiler systems had effectiveness in the series of 56% to 70%, contemporary conventional heater can attain effectiveness as high as 98.5%, transforming almost all the fuel to helpful heat for your house. Energy performance upgrades and a new high-efficiency heating system can typically cut your fuel bills and your heating system's contamination output in half. Upgrading your furnace or boiler from 56% to 90% efficiency in a typical cold-climate house will conserve 1.5 heaps of carbon dioxide emissions each year if you heat with gas, or 2.5 heaps if you heat with oil. If your heating system or boiler is old, used out, ineffective, or significantly extra-large, the easiest service is to change it with a modern-day high-efficiency model. Old coal burners that were switched to oil or gas are prime

3. candidates for replacement, in addition to gas heating systems with pilot lights rather than electronic ignitions. Newer systems may be more effective however are still most likely to be oversized, and can typically be customized to lower their operating capability. Before purchasing a new heating system or boiler or modifying your existing system, initially make every effort to improve the energy efficiency of your house, then have a heating professional size your heater. Energy-efficiency improvements will conserve cash on a brand-new heating system or boiler, because you can acquire a smaller system. A correctly sized heating system or boiler will run most efficiently, and you'll want to choose a dependable system and compare the guarantees of each heating system or boiler you're thinking about. When shopping for high-efficiency heaters and boilers, search furnace companies calgary for the ENERGY STAR ® label. If you live in a cold climate, it usually makes sense to purchase the highest-efficiency system. In milder climates with lower annual heating expenses, the additional investment required to go from 80% to 90% to 95% efficiency might be hard to justify. Define a sealed combustion furnace or boiler, which will bring outside air straight into the burner and exhaust flue gases (combustion products) straight to the outdoors, without the need for a draft hood or damper. Heating systems and boilers that are not sealed-combustion systems draw heated air into the system for combustion and then send that air up the chimney, wasting the energy that was used to warm the air. Sealed-combustion units prevent that problem and also posture no threat of presenting dangerous combustion gases into your home. In furnaces that are not sealed-combustion systems, backdrafting of combustion gases can be a big issue. High-efficiency sealed-combustion units generally produce an acidic exhaust gas that is not appropriate for old, unlined chimneys, so the exhaust gas need to either be vented through a new duct or the chimney need to be lined to accommodate the acidic gas (see the section on keeping appropriate ventilation below). Keeping Heaters and Boilers. The following maintenance must be offered by a heating unit professional. All systems:. - Examine the condition of your vent connection pipe and chimney. Parts of the venting system might have weakened over time. Chimney problems can be costly to repair, and may assist validate installing brand-new heating equipment that will not utilize the existing chimney. - Check the physical integrity of the heat exchanger. Dripping boiler heat exchangers leak water and are easy to area. Heating system heat exchangers blend combustion gases with house air when they leakage-- an important security reason to have them examined. - Adjust the controls on the boiler or furnace to offer optimal water and air temperature settings for both performance and convenience. - If you're considering changing or retrofitting your existing heating unit, have the technician carry out a combustion-efficiency test. Required Air Systems:. - Check the combustion chamber for fractures. - Test for carbon monoxide gas (CO) and treatment if found.

4. - Change blower control and supply-air temperature. - Clean and oil the blower. - Eliminate dirt, soot, or rust from the furnace or boiler. - Examine fuel input and flame characteristics, and change if needed. - Seal connections between the heating system and main ducts. Warm Water Systems:. - Test pressure-relief valve. - Test high-limit control. - Examine pressure tank, which need to be filled with air, to confirm that it's not filled with water. - Clean the heat exchanger. Steam Systems:. - Drain some water from the boiler to eliminate sediments and enhance the heat exchange efficiency. - Test low-water cutoff safety control and high-limit security control. - Drain the float chamber to remove sediments, which will prevent the low-water cutoff control from sediment clogs. - Examine boiler water and add chemicals as needed to manage deposits and deterioration. - Tidy the heat exchanger. Chimneys. Appropriately functioning chimney systems will carry combustion by-products out of the house. For that reason, chimney issues put you at risk of having these by-products, such as carbon monoxide gas, spill into your home. Many older heating systems and boilers have naturally drafting chimneys. The combustion gases exit the house through the chimney utilizing only their buoyancy combined with the chimney's height. Naturally drafting chimneys frequently have issues exhausting the combustion gases because of chimney clog, wind or pressures inside the home that conquer the buoyancy of the gases. Climatic, open-combustion furnaces and boilers, in addition to fan-assisted heating systems and boilers, must be vented into masonry chimneys, metal double-wall chimneys, or another kind of produced chimney. Masonry chimneys should have a fireclay, masonry liner or a retrofitted metal flue liner. Many older chimneys have actually weakened liners or no liners at all and should be relined throughout heater or boiler replacement. A chimney must be relined when any of the following changes are made to the combustion heating system:.

5. - When you change an older furnace or boiler with a more recent one that has an AFUE of 80% or more. These mid-efficiency appliances have a higher threat of depositing acidic condensation beads in chimneys, and the chimneys should be prepared to manage this corrosive hazard. The new chimney liner should be sized to accommodate both the brand-new heating appliance and the combustion hot water heater (if present) by the installer. - When you change an older furnace or boiler with a new 90+ AFUE home appliance or a heatpump. In this case, the heating device will no longer vent into the old chimney, and if the combustion water heating system is present it will now vent through an oversized chimney. This extra-large chimney can result in condensation and inadequate draft. The new chimney liner ought to be sized for the water heating system alone, or the hot water heater sometimes can be vented straight through the wall. Other Ventilation Concerns. Some fan-assisted, non-condensing furnaces and boilers, set up between 1987 and 1993, might be vented horizontally through high-temperature plastic vent pipe (not PVC pipe, which is safely used in condensing heating systems). This type of venting has actually been remembered and must be replaced by stainless-steel vent pipe. If horizontal venting was used, an extra draft-inducing fan may be required near the vent outlet to produce adequate draft. Floor heaters may have special venting problems because their vent adapter exits the heater near to the flooring and may travel 10 to 30 feet prior to reaching a chimney. Examine to see if this type of venting or the floor heating system itself requires replacement. If you smell gases, you have a venting issue that could impact your health. Contact your regional energy or heating professional to have this venting problem repaired immediately.