As the days get cooler, you may be reaching to turn your heater on. If you already turned it on once this season, the chances that you smelled a weird odor or heard a weird noise at first are high. Your heater sat unused for several months, and it is groaning awake, in a way, after being dormant for months. You may notice these things and think nothing of them, or you might schedule a tune-up. Though you have been busy handling these issues plus everything else in your busy schedule, have you considered if your heater is energy efficient or not?
There are 3 ways to tell if your heater is energy efficient or not, and a tune-up from your trusted HVAC technician can always help. Allowing a professional to evaluate the current state of your system or clean it out is always a good idea, especially when you are using your heater for the first time in months. Use these 3 ways to tell if your heater is energy efficient or not, or call a professional to help you.
AFUE Rating
Your heater’s AFUE rating can give you a big clue as to how efficient your heater is when it’s at its best. An AFUE rating is Anual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, it is a rating system that could be compared to MPG for cars. The more Miles Per Gallon for cars, the more efficiency they are. It is the same for heaters and the AFUE rating system. The higher the number or percentage for AFUE, the more energy efficient the heater is.
The heater is ranked for this when it is manufactured and therefore in its prime. It isn’t unusual for this AFUE to decline a little over time, so it’s important to keep your heater clean and tuned up to keep it working at its best.
T break it down further, here is a good example. A heater with an AFUE rating of 97% means that 97% of the fuel is converting energy to heat in your home, while the other 3% of the energy from fuel is lost. You can find the rating your heater has in the user manual or on the heater itself. This rating tool will provide you with solid data on if your heater is energy efficient or not.
How Old Is Your Heater?
If your heater is considerably old, it may not be working as efficiently as it used to. The age of your heater is a great way to tell if your heater is energy efficient. If it is very old, the changes the actual AFUE is lower than its manufactured label. A simple tune-up can often help in cases such as this. Without proper tune-up schedules and consistent upkeep, your heater AFUE can go down 5% each year.
When your heater gets old, however, there is only so much maintenance can really do for it. If your heater is old and inefficient and energy efficiency is important to you, it may be time to replace your system.
What Did Your Energy Bill Look Like A Few Years Ago?
If your heater has only recently declined in efficiency, you can determine this by comparing energy bills for the same month in previous years. Unless there was a severe weather anomaly, your bills can help determine how much more energy is being used to heat your home. If your heater is using more energy to heat your home, there’s a good chance the energy efficiency has declined. Compare your bills from years past to see if your heater is energy efficient or not.
Call Ellis Air Conditioning & Heating
Call us at (972)362-1501 or contact us anytime. If you notice your heater is using more energy to heat your home, call us out for an evaluation and we can tell you if your heater is energy efficient or not. We can perform regular maintenance to increase the efficiency or we can advise you on the best new heater for your home.