Choosing A New Furnace
As winter approaches, everyone begins to think about the furnace. Will in
kick on? Will it last through another long, cold winter? Should we install a new
furnace? If so, with what kind? If these questions are familiar to you, keep
reading as we try to "demystify" a couple of household heating sources.
The most important step to take before starting the furnace for the season is to
have it inspected by a licensed professional. They will clean the furnace, make
sure it is in good working order, they will also recommend any parts that will
need to be serviced or replaced in the near future.
If the furnace inspector tells you that it is time to replace the furnace, you
may be overwhelmed by the choices in today’s’ furnace market. There are the
standard gas, oil and electric furnaces as well as the newer outdoor wood
furnaces and corn-fueled furnaces to name a few. There is lots of information
available on these newer furnaces on the internet, however, a quick overview
will be provided here.
One of the most popular options today is an outdoor heating source. It uses the
old standby of wood, but eliminates the mess and smell associated with burning
wood. An outdoor wood heating unit is placed approximately 500ft from the house.
The wood burner itself is built inside of a small building, this often is made
to look like a smaller house or shed. The heat is carried from the burner via
heated water, which runs through underground, insulated pipes. This is the most
effective and efficient method for moving heat over distances. Once the heated
water reaches its destination, there are a couple of options for actually
heating the home. Using a boiler, radiant floor heating system, a heat exchanger
or a forced air furnace that is powered by a direct circulation system. The wood
burning system can also do double duty to heat household water if a
water-to-water heat exchanger is installed.
Although there are many advantages to using an outside wood burning furnace, it
has a down side to its use as well. The cost can be quite high for most people,
running approximately $5,000 installed. This of course, depends upon what part
of the country you live in.
Another alternative to the traditional furnace that is gaining in popularity is
the corn burning furnace. This type of furnace uses shelled corn (the same kind
fed to livestock) to heat a home. While this is a viable source of heat it is
not fool proof, it does have drawbacks that need to be considered before making
a final decision.
Corn fuel furnaces are comparable to a convention furnace as far as price is
concerned, costing roughly $2,000. It uses corn that has no more than 15%
moisture content; fortunately, this is the same percentage of moisture as feed
corn, making it very easy to obtain from a local elevator. The cost of burning
corn as compared to propane is approximately one bushel of corn is to 5.5
gallons of propane fuel. Corn is also a natural and renewable resource, and
keeps farmers in business while keeping your heating costs down.
On the other side, corn fed furnaces need daily cleaning to be efficient. They
also run on an electric fan system, if you lose electricity, you lose heat also.
For this reason, its best to either have a generator or a back up furnace for
emergencies.
Being armed with the knowledge of these types of heating sources will make you a
more educated consumer when it is time to replace an old, worn out furnace.
Linda Moore writes on a variety of subjects including home ownership, family
matters, personal enrichment, replacing your furnace
http://www.get-lower-heating-bills.info and property values.
Article Source:
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Linda_Moore
"-
At the current time, we use the home warrantee company for all the
components in our home, with the exception of our air conditioner
and heating unit, where we continue to contact Betts Heating & Air
for all the essential repairs to our system." --
Michael and Melinda Kennedy,
Acworth GA
