But in climates like California or Arizona where temps rarely fall below degrees, winters are much more mild. If you live in Texas, for example, you may only need to turn your furnace on occasionally throughout the winter months. Use the table and map below to determine the BTU output necessary for your climate in the winter.
Image credit : University of Hawaii Hilo. To give you an idea of how you might make the assessment on your own, take a look at our sample calculations below. Family Room: 24 ft. X 15 ft. Dining Room: 10 ft. Kitchen: 25 ft. X 12 ft. Bedroom 1: 20 ft. Bedroom 2: 20 ft. By all means, check and change your filters, but unless you are a qualified HVAC technician, it is not safe to attempt to fully inspect your own furnace.
Do not try to open or repair a furnace. Unless you are a qualified furnace technician, never attempt to remove the door or open the furnace in any way. Electronics and anything inside your furnace are for professionals only. Who should maintain my furnace? There are a few things that you will want to keep in mind when deciding which HVAC company you want to have tune-up your furnace:.
What should I do before the furnace inspection? Before the technician arrives, help ensure safety for everyone by clearing the furnace room and the path to the equipment of any clutter or other items.
Replace bulbs to ensure adequate lighting. It is a good idea to have a spare furnace filter on hand. The technician can then check the filter system, and if needed, install the new filter for you.
Part of making sure your furnace stays running smoothly all winter long and keeps your home comfortable starts with making sure that the furnace accessories are also properly maintained. Here are a few of the common questions you may have about maintaining both your air filter and humidifier:.
Why are clean filters important? You can help to ensure a high level of indoor air quality by ensuring your filters are replaced or cleaned regularly. Air filters help both your indoor air quality and your furnace run smoothly. Because air filters do so many jobs, filling up quickly with pollutants, debris, hair and allergens, they have a short lifespan.
They must be replaced or cleaned frequently, to maintain good performance. Replacing air filters more frequently during heating season helps keep the air flow moving. You could set up calendar reminders for filter checks, or arrange furnace maintenance and leave it to the professionals. How often should I replace my air filter? The frequency of filter replacement or cleaning will depend on the kind of furnace you have and the kind of filter it uses.
The home environment will also have an impact of filter replacement. In general filters should be changed every three months, when they are dirty or according to the recommendations of your equipment manufacturer.
How many filters are there? Usually there is only one filter for a furnace, one pad for a humidifier, and one to two filter for a heat recovery ventilator. There may also be a separate filter for your air conditioning, depending on the model and configuration. Some homes have an electronic air filter, powered by the furnace control board when the circulation blower fan turns on.
How do I replace my furnace filter? Humidifier pad maintenance. Your humidifier pad should also be changed or cleaned periodically and the frequency will depend on the type of humidifier that you have, as well as the quality of the water connected to it.
Be sure to ask your service technician about the proper humidifier pad maintenance for your equipment during your regular maintenance. Try not to leave it until the last minute when snow is piling up outside.
But life happens, and your service company should be happy to undertake a checkup even well into winter. Try to book furnace maintenance for September and October before the rush. For more information on maintenance click here. Consider a protection plan. Put your furnace inspections and regular service on autopilot, by signing up for a compressive protection plan to make sure you are always covered. Learn more here. Make sure the furnace is turned on.
It seems obvious, but it does happen that the furnace gets turned off and not turned back on. If your thermostat has batteries, check the batteries. Now might be a good time to also check the batteries in smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors.
Some people choose to check their batteries twice a year at the same time they adjust their clocks for daylight savings time. Just check the temperature level and turn it up about 5 degrees higher. Your furnace should come on within a few minutes. If it does not come on, there is a problem with either the thermostat or the furnace. Change the batteries if applicable and if that does not help, call a professional and have them inspect your furnace and thermostat. When you are doing maintenance around your home, be sure to replace the batteries and test both your fire alarm and carbon monoxide detector.
This should be done at least twice a year. Change the air filters. Furnace filters, humidifier pads, ventilator filters all require checking and regular replacement. The best way is by changing or cleaning your furnace filter, humidifier pad and any other equipment filters in your system. For more information on filters see the filter section below or click here. Clean and unblock areas in front of heating grills, radiators, intake vents and outside exhaust vents.
De-clutter the furnace room. Keep your furnace room and all areas around your furnace clean and clutter-free. If your furnace room is also your laundry room, do not hang wet items on furnace equipment as it can create a serious fire risk. Store all items away from your heating equipment and provide clear access to your furnace at all times.
If your furnace is in need of repair, it is important not to leave it. Depending on the problem you are facing ignoring the issue will not only leave you cold this winter, but may also further damage the equipment. For most problems, it is best to call a licensed and trained HVAC technician to come and inspect and repair the system to ensure the system is fixed properly. For more information about having your furnace fixed, here are a few frequently asked questions for the most common furnace issues:.
If it is not working or not working right, the on switch might be off, the breaker may have tripped, the thermostat might be set wrong, and the filter might be very dirty, the air ducts might be physically blocked or the dampers might be closed. If you have checked these items and it still is not working, it is time to call a professional and have it inspected.
If it is blowing cold air your thermostat fan setting might be set to ON. Change it to AUTO so that it only blows when there is warm air to blow. If your furnace is leaking water, it is usually related to condensation leaking from a blocked or damaged hose used in a high efficiency furnace, air conditioner or humidifier.
It might also be the water supply to the humidifier. All leaks should be referred to a qualified technician. Popping or banging sounds especially if they occur after the blower turns off, are usually caused by expansion and contraction in the ductwork. A squeaking noise during operation may mean worn out fan bearings. A scraping sound could be a blower wheel fault.
Tapping may indicate something caught up in the blower blades. Buzzing often relates to a problem with a transformer box. All furnace sounds should be checked by a qualified technician. Cost increases can be caused by different occupants, usage patterns, or weather, higher fuel prices. If none of this sounds right, check that your filters are clean, your vents are unblocked, and that your thermostat settings are proper.
If none of that solves the problem, you might need a cleaning and inspection. This should really be left to a professional, but carbon monoxide alerts, odours, soot, changes to burner flame and metal discolouration might all point to a cracked heat exchanger. Professional technicians may use a special camera or combustion analyzer to provide a more accurate diagnosis. There are many different factors that can determine how long a furnace will last including age and operating conditions.
Conditions include the kind of furnace, the local climate, proper regular servicing and heavy or moderate usage. Warning signs that it might soon be time to look at new furnaces include increasing repairs, noise, or rust.
No one wants to break the bank trying to keep their home warm and comfortable during the cold winter months. Help to keep your energy costs down as the temperature dips by implementing a few of these simple tips:. Upgrading both your furnace and your air conditioner to efficient models at the same time will help you maximize your energy savings.
Get helpful tips and updates by signing up for our Home Comfort Corner eNewsletter. Heating Types. Rent or Buy. Repair FAQs. Save Energy. Click here to see our Featured Furnace Offer. Different Heating Types. Buying a new heating system — where to start? Select heating system type:. Heat Pump. Furnaces — what to know To tailor a solution to your home, we recommend having a trained professional assess your needs and recommend what is best for you and your home.
Furnace Types. Available Technology. Fueling Options. How a Furnace works. Different Furnace Types There are three main types of furnaces: single stage, 2-stage and modulating furnaces. Single stage furnace: Single stage furnaces are the most basic and commonly installed type of furnaces.
Two-stage furnace: Two-stage furnaces have two different settings when your furnace is on, a high setting as well medium intensity setting to deliver a wider range of operation.
Modulating furnace: Modulating furnaces offer an advanced type of heating technology that delivers more even heating throughout your home. Electronically commutated motors ECM An Electronically Commuted Motor ECM is a motor technology in forced air heating applications that works to reduce the electrical consumption of the furnace motor. Electronic ignition Modern furnaces come with electronic ignition, which is a technological advancement replacing the pilot light system.
Different fueling options Before you purchase a new furnace, consider which fuels are available in your area. Gas furnaces. Propane furnaces. Oil Furnaces. Electric Furnances. Inexpensive Depending on the area you live in, gas is typically more cost effective than oil or propane. Affordable Installation Gas furnaces installations are usually very straightforward; a professional and licensed team should be able to install your unit at an affordable rate. Wide Selection There are many models of gas furnaces available, making it easy to find the right solution for your home and budget.
Things to consider when buying a gas furnace: Availability In rural areas, gas may not be available and there may be a more readily available or affordable fuel Ductwork Gas furnaces require ducts to circulate heat throughout your home Maintenance Gas furnaces need to be inspected regularly so it is important to schedule annual maintenance Size Gas furnaces are generally larger than a ductless split unit and will take up more space.
Benefits of an oil furnace: Availability Oil furnaces are often a good choice when other fueling options are scarce or unavailable Most regions of Canada have access to oil Smart home compatible Temperature can be controlled remotely when you pair with a smart thermostat Things to consider when buying an oil furnace: Price Oil furnaces are usually more expensive to operate than gas or propane furnaces Storage A tank needs to be installed outside of your home to hold the fuel Efficiency Oil furnaces tend to operate less efficiently than most modern gas and propane options Ductwork Ductwork is required to circulate heat throughout your home Maintenance Regular maintenance is required to keep the system operating efficiently.
Benefits of an electric furnace: Contribute almost nothing to carbon emissions in their own operation, when using clean renewable electricity Electricity can come from renewable sources or from using fossil fuels A flue pipe or chimney is not needed making them easier to install Viable options in areas where electricity is inexpensive Things to consider when buying an electric furnace: More expensive to operate than gas, propane or oil furnaces, in most regions Be sure to compare heat pumps or, other electric options like baseboard heating, before investing in an electric furnace.
How a gas furnace works. Set your thermostat to a desired temperature, or program a temperature schedule. The thermostat sensor monitors the temperature, and when needed, calls on the furnace for heat. The furnace control board switches on the induced draft motor. A pressure switch senses a pressure change and the igniter is activated.
The fuel is released to the burners. Burners ignite in sequence, warming the heat exchanger s. A flame sensor allows fuel flow to continue as long as it is burning. I'd consider 2 with a zone system or maybe 3 without zones.
All depends on how cut-up or stacked the floor plan is. Absolutely the first thing you need to do is have a load calc done. One complete system per level provides the best comfort Choose your contractor wisely! It's a lie. The problem with one furnace in the basement, is running duct to the second floor. Most people don't want to give up a 20x20 space to run trunk through, so your stuck trying to get duct up inside walls, which never works out for airflow.
The best solution would be 2 furnaces to keep you comfortable. Originally Posted by ga-hvac-tech. With that size home it would be hard to keep the home comfortable with 1 system. Even if the system in the center of home there will still be long runs of ducts. It is good that you are having the duct work designed by a pro but with that said he or she will need to know what size systems as this will determine what size duct going to each room.
Ok square foot is it 2 story or 1? Where do plan to have the units installed attic or closet? Insulate and seal it well and you will do fine with one furnace. Do a bad job with the home envelope and you will need multiple furnaces or zones to make up for uneven heat loss and stack effect between floors.
Good sealing and insulation will also last much longer than any equipment. Two furnaces will cost twice as much to replace each time. Originally Posted by twins2.
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