Natural Gas Furnaces - Energy Efficient Features
Choosing a high-efficiency natural gas furnace is the best way to get the
most out of your heating dollars. With a high-efficiency natural gas
furnace, up to 97 cents of every dollar you spend in energy translates
directly into heat in your home. Opting for a furnace that earns the Energy Star* rating is the easiest way
to know that you have one of the most efficient furnaces on the market.
* Energy Star is a program that helps consumers easily identify their most efficient new products by category. Find out more details about Energy Star.
Energy efficiency improvements have been made to high-efficiency furnaces. These improvements include the 'two-stage furnace' and the 'variable speed blower motor'.
Understanding 'two-stage furnaces'
Homeowners report more even heating when their furnace is a two-stage model.
With a 'two-stage furnace' there are two levels of heating and two levels of
fan blower speeds (high and low). A 'two-stage furnace' primarily operates
on a lower input. When there is a greater demand for heat, such as on the
coldest days of winter, the furnace will switch to operate at a higher
input. The benefit of a 2-stage furnace is that it provides more even
temperatures throughout the home, since warm air is circulated for a longer
period of time when operating on a lower input. An added advantage is that
the furnace is usually slightly more efficient than an equivalent single
stage furnace when operating on a lower input.
Understanding a 'variable speed blower motor'
Variable speed blower motors move at different speeds to control the flow
of air throughout the home. Unlike a conventional blower motor, a
variable speed blower motor is designed to be efficient at all speeds of
operation. This is particularly important for 2-stage furnaces that operate
longer times.
A variable speed blower motor can reduce electrical consumption of a furnace by as much as 60% compared to standard motor[1].
