Furnace performance may be measured by fuel efficiency, the level of home comfort delivered in your Calgary home and the durability of components regarding maintenance issues during the furnaces life span. Old furnaces are reliable workhorses, but there really is no comparison to today’s condensing furnaces for return on investment for lower heating bills year after year and premium home-comfort experience day after day.
Premium Home Heating: Condensed Version
Condensing furnaces are called such because they cool and condense hot exhaust gases, extracting nearly 100 percent of heat energy, by utilizing a secondary heat exchanger. The primary heat exchanger works like a conventional furnace by transferring heat to return air. Then, hot exhaust gases enter the secondary heat exchanger for round two.
The secondary heat exchanger is manufactured from stainless steel in order to safely handle the acidic condensate produced by the cooling hot gases. The cooled exhaust exits the furnace system and the home through plastic piping, which is typically sidewall vented, or may utilize an existing chimney or flue.
High-Efficiency Accomplices
To reach nearly 100 percent heat exchange, the secondary heat exchanger is aided by high-efficiency combustion and air-delivery components. A modulating or two-stage gas valve regulates heating output, as opposed to a fixed-stage gas valve of conventional furnaces with only one operating speed (100 percent capacity).
A variable-speed insulated blower works beautifully with the secondary heat exchanger and modulating gas valve to provide premium home heating which is precisely and continuously matched to the heating load at any given moment. This system delivers smooth and quiet heating for a home-comfort experience unmatched by conventional and mid-efficiency furnaces.
Safety Built In
By design and necessity, condensing furnaces are safer to operate than their conventional counterparts. Sealed combustion with direct-vent air intake and exhaust is used for the combustion process, which eliminates the threat of the back-drafting. Moreover, sealed combustion means that warm household air won’t be re-heated for the purpose of combustion.
If you’re ready to take your home heating and comfort to the next level, please contact us at Arpi’s Industries for more information about condensing furnaces.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Calgary, Alberta about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about condensing furnaces and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Resource guide. Image courtesy of Shutterstock
