FURNACE, HEAT PUMP AND BOILER
INSTALLATION & REPAIR
IN BERKS COUNTY

Furnace & heating technology has advanced significantly in recent years, raising concerns over chimney use. 

It should be noted that the new high efficiency Energy Star equipment vents directly outside, negating the need for a chimney.

That being said, many existing masonry chimneys aren’t able to meet the specific demands of new furnaces with higher efficiency and enhanced performance.

There are several reasons why new furnace & heating technology and existing masonry chimneys aren’t compatible. The size of the chimney can be an issue. Modern, higher-efficiency furnaces transfer more heat into your home and less heat up the chimney than older, less-efficient units. While this means the consumer is getting more for their energy dollar, it also means that the existing chimney might now be too large for the new furnace. The result could be improper ventilation of flue products, which can cause condensation problems inside the chimney. Condensation in your chimney is the cause of two major problems. The water combines with flue gases and forms corrosive acids that eat away at the chimney, deteriorating tiles, bricks and mortar. Secondly, in winter, moisture freezes and thaws, breaking away mortar and bricks. Resulting damage can be extensive. A chimney can be destroyed and deterioration can create leaks into the home. Moisture can damage interior dry wall near the chimney and run back into the furnace, causing corrosion there, too.

In addition, today’s induced-draft furnaces often require an additional natural draft appliance to be installed into the same chimney for proper venting.

Other possibilities for furnace-chimney incompatibility include the absence of a tile liner in the chimney and the location of the chimney on an outside wall of the home.

The difference between an unlined masonry chimney and one lined with tile is simple but significant. An unlined masonry chimney is constructed of only bricks and mortar. A tile-lined chimney has the same bricks-and-mortar exterior appearance, but it also uses a rectangular or round-fired clay tile pipe in the center. While all new masonry chimneys are built with a clay tile liner, this doesn’t guarantee that they can be used with some new furnaces.

There are installations where it is possible to match a new furnace to an existing chimney. Certain factors such as chimney height and location, proper lining and condition of the chimney must be taken into consideration. Building codes must also be kept in mind. These requirements must be met to ensure proper draft in the chimney for adequate ventilation.

Our Comfort Consultants can offer the best advice on how to configure your new furnace.

The clicking sound is likely the spark igniter on the furnace going through its sequence to light the furnace burners. This is normal. However, if you do experience louder and more frequent noises from your heating system you should contact your furnace repair technician for an evaluation.

This port is a diagnostic tool furnace & heating technicians use to help determine the operational status of the furnace.

The pipes are the combustion exhaust vent and outside air intake. This type of heating system is referred to as a sealed combustion system.

An 80% furnace is often less expensive, is usually vented with a metal pipe, takes air from indoors for combustion, and is generally less efficient. A 90% furnace typically costs slightly more, and is vented with an exhaust and intake PVC pipes (does not take air from indoors for combustion). Most models have variable speed blower motors and are two-stage or have modulating gas valves for maximum comfort.

High efficiency 90% furnaces have a by-product of water vapor. This water vapor returns to the furnace through the exhaust PVC and is then drained. The sound is normal.

Unless you are very familiar with HVAC industry energy standards and government energy standards, it’s almost impossible to determine the size of a replacement furnace. A trained heating specialist knows all the standards and can evaluate your home for not only the heating appliance, but also the quality of the heated air, and how well the air is distributed in the home. This evaluation is called a heating load calculation and should be performed by a heating and cooling contractor before they provide a new HVAC system quote.

This home heating evaluation also takes into consideration changes made to the home since the last furnace was installed. New windows, doors, insulation, exterior changes and other appliances that may have a huge effect on the size of the furnace needed today. A consumer can tell a contractor the exact furnace they now have, but without a complete home analysis, it’s impossible to determine the proper size of the replacement furnace equipment.

Furnaces are rated by the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) ratio, which is the percent of heat produced for every dollar of fuel consumed.

Like the miles per gallon rating on your automobile, the higher the AFUE rating, the lower your fuel costs. All furnaces manufactured must meet at least 80 percent AFUE. If your furnace is 10 to 15 years old, it very well may fall below the current furnace minimum and waste energy.

This doesn’t mean that you should only look for a furnace with the highest AFUE rating. The efficiency rating is just one factor to consider when looking at a new furnace.

Furnaces use electricity to run fans and motors. The amount of electricity used varies greatly depending on the type of furnace. Be sure to check electricity usage prior to making a purchase decision.

There are several important factors to consider when making a purchase decision. Payback is a big factor. For instance, if you live in a colder climate, you could see payback in a few short years. But in a more moderate climate, it could take longer. In this case you may consider purchasing a mid-efficiency furnace & heating system. Remember, after the payback, you will continue to save money on your energy bills.

Other considerations are how long you plan to live in your house, special comfort needs, fuel availability and fuel cost.

All these factors, plus your lifestyle and family needs, add up to show you which furnace is best for you.

The professionals at Ultimate Comfort would be happy to assist you with finding the best furnace & heating for your home.

The term “variable speed” refers to the furnace’s indoor air blower motor. The blower motor is the component that determines the amount of air the blower is required to deliver to your home.

When your furnace is installed, the speed and airflow for your home are set depending upon your specific situation, such as the size of your home, etc. However, there are situations that can occur within the household to restrict this airflow, such as ductwork design, unit location, zoning and dirty filters, to name just a few. Think of variable-speed technology as your insurance for home comfort the way you prefer it. Variable-speed technology ensures that your home receives the amount of air required to keep you and your family comfortable. Variable-speed motors have intelligent technology that monitor incoming data from the blower and adjust accordingly so you can feel confident that your system is working to keep you comfortable.

Having the technology of variable speed in your furnace & heating offers many benefits:

Electrical efficiency: Variable-speed motors can actually save you money on your energy bills as they consume less electricity than standard motors.

Cooling efficiency: Variable-speed technology also means you will gain air conditioning efficiency or SEER.

Zoning: Variable-speed furnaces are excellent for zoning, where you control the conditioning of your home. Zoning allows you to customize your comfort in different areas or zones in your home and control your energy bills

Air quality: A variable-speed motor combined with a humidistat allows you to control the humidity in your home. Humidity plays a big role not only in the comfort of your home, but also in its air quality. The relative humidity in your home should be between 30 and 60 percent. This range is most ideal to minimize growth of biological pollutants such as mold and mildew. The consistent airflow of the variable-speed motor also helps to improve air filtration.

Thanks to the innovation of modulating heating, it is possible for your home to be cozier than ever while saving you money on your energy bill in the process. Modulating heating can be a tremendous help when looking for that just-right temperature during the cold winter months.

Traditional single-stage furnaces are designed to heat your home and keep you warm during the coldest weather in your climate. Therefore, when they are operating, they are heating at their full capacity. Unlike those furnaces, modulating furnaces are designed to operate like multiple furnaces, maintaining more consistent comfort levels throughout the home.

Standard furnaces operate like your car in stop-and-go traffic. Fuel efficiency goes down and you’re less comfortable. A modulating furnace is like highway driving, making slight operating adjustments while achieving maximum efficiency. This new condensing furnace with a modulating gas valve operates with more finesse to reduce temperature fluctuations, providing consistent indoor temperature, quiet operation, and an annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) of up to 98%.

The York High Efficiency Modulating Gas Furnace is one of the first to combine a modulating gas valve with a variable-speed blower. The furnace’s gas valve operates between 30% and 100% of total capacity, in 1% increments, continuously regulating the amount of fuel burned according to the thermostat setting. The thermostat provides feedback for the control board, which uses “fuzzy logic” to vary valve and blower settings.

Heating mode starts with the gas at 100% and the fan at 0%, the valve reducing and the blower increasing until maximum efficiency is reached. The fan then runs continuously, ramping up or down depending upon air delivery requirements. Since the fan and burner almost never run at full capacity, and energy-robbing on/off cycling is eliminated, the unit is highly fuel-efficient.

Modulating heating has many advantages:

Consistent comfort: The temperature inside your home should vary only a couple of degrees versus the larger temperature swings that are common with traditional furnaces.

Quiet comfort: Because a modulating furnace starts at lower capacities when the amount of heat required is lower, and runs in this stage about 80 percent of the time, it greatly reduces the noise associated with furnaces that turn on and run full blast. Modulating technology means quiet comfort.

Improved air filtration: A modulating furnace provides more consistent airflow and with more consistent airflow comes improved air filtration, which means you’ll breathe easier.

Efficient operation: Because the furnace spends the majority of its time operating at a lower-capacity, it burns less fuel than a traditional furnace that always runs at full capacity and then shuts off when the heating demand has been met.

Although you can’t see the air and temperature within your home, you can certainly feel them. A modulating furnace can provide preferred comfort within your home despite the changes in weather outside your home.

The Ultimate Comfort sales staff can show you additional benefits of owning a modulating system.

There are many factors involved in determining the best time to replace a furnace, such as its current operating efficiency, condition, make, model and the age of the furnace. A very basic rule-of-thumb is that every 10 years or so, efficiencies in furnace energy consumption for home heating equipment advance enough to warrant the utility savings a new furnace can bring. This is a somewhat broad generalization, many well-maintained furnaces may last much, much longer energy-efficient heating, and less quality models may only last a few years.

The only way to really know the best time to replace your furnace is to have an HVAC inspection and energy analysis performed on your heating and cooling system. We offer this service as part of any appointment, but you might get the most use of the information for free by scheduling a Comfort Advisor to perform the analysis and discuss the furnace options available to you. 

Many factors can cause air filters to become dirty at various intervals, so it depends on your location. For instance, homes near factories or airports or homes with pets may accumulate dust or debris more often. Furnace filters should generally be changed when there is visible dirt accumulated on the filter. Usually, a regular filter should be changed at least every season, but in many cases that is not enough. Airflow is restricted by dirty filters and this can cause increasing loss of heating and air conditioning efficiency, and may even damage the HVAC equipment.

Furnaces using high efficiency 1" thick filters should be checked often, as they may become blocked very quickly, and therefore may need to be changed more frequently, sometimes even monthly.

A new furnace may not operate exactly the same as an older one. When you install a new indoor comfort system in your home, you’ll probably notice it operates differently than your old system. Radical changes have taken place in the technology of the comfort industry in recent years. These changes will affect how your system operates and may also affect what you notice about your system.

Higher efficiencies in furnaces and air conditioners have become increasingly important over the past few years. Consumers, government agencies and manufacturers all see higher efficiency as a way to conserve our natural resources while reducing consumer energy costs. Today, furnaces are designed with high efficiency in mind.

To achieve higher efficiencies, new gas furnaces must move more air over the heat exchanger than older furnaces so that as much heat as possible can be sent throughout the house.

The air that comes out of your furnace registers may not seem as warm as the air was from your old furnace, but it will heat your house just as well. In fact, better airflow can improve overall comfort by reducing air temperature differences from the ceiling to the floor throughout your entire home.

Modern furnaces are designed to handle high-efficiency air conditioners and must have blowers that are efficient yet powerful enough to accommodate the add-on cooling. Since cold air is much heavier than warm air, your system needs an extra boost from the blower to get cool air throughout your home to provide you with efficient total comfort during the summer.

Higher airflow required for cooling operation could contribute to unfamiliar sound levels when your new furnace is operating because older homes’ air duct systems were designed for heating only. Ultimate Comfort offers products with multiple speed settings to allow for the varying air needs of both heating and cooling cycles.