Key Features To Consider When You’re Replacing Your Furnace

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Even if you’ve been extremely diligent about maintaining your furnace, a replacement at one point or another is inevitable.

If you’re in that situation now, it’s probably been a while since you looked at furnaces, and you’re probably quite impressed with how far they’ve come over the years. While you’re shopping for that new furnace, consider these features.

  • Variable-speed blower: This feature allows a furnace to deliver air more quietly and slowly than a unit with a single-speed blower. It also helps to ensure a consistent temperature while minimizing drafts. Because it converts AC power to DC, a variable-speed blower uses less electricity. According to engineering studies, these blowers can lower heating costs by as much as 40 percent.
  • Variable heat output: This is an option on many furnaces with variable-speed blowers. It automatically adjusts output, depending on heating requirements.
  • Ignition system: No more pilot light! Today’s furnaces have intermittent, direct-spark or hot-surface ignitions, thereby eliminating the need for a constant flame. This helps to save energy.
  • Two-stage gas valve: This energy-saving component is designed to operate in its first stage when heating requirements are moderate. As the outdoor temperature falls, and heating requirements rise, the valve operates in its second stage. The two-stage design offers significant benefits in terms of savings.
  • Heat exchanger: Look for a heat exchanger that’s made of stainless steel for corrosion resistance. Stainless steel construction also maximizes strength against thermal fatigue.
  • Premium filters: Many high-efficiency furnaces come with electrostatic or HEPA filters, which do a better job of trapping particulates than standard air filters. An electrostatic filter uses an electrical charge to trap particulates. A HEPA filter, meanwhile, is denser than a standard filter.

When you’re buying your furnace, talk with your contractor about integrating zoned heating. This allows you to keep one consistent temperature throughout your home when one area is susceptible to heat loss. It can also allow you to keep parts of your home at different temperatures. For example, if you have an elderly family member in your home, her room or rooms can be kept warmer than the rest of the house.

Ready to replace your furnace? Contact the experts at Apollo Home Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We can guide you through your options and then make sure that your new furnace is sized and installed correctly. And after that? Well, we can see to it that your furnace is kept in tip-top shape so that you won’t be needing a replacement for a long time.

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"Ernie & Mike did a superb job on my new furnace and A/C installation. Despite having more than a day’s work to do, they came in and stayed until the job was done. They were organized, efficient, and protected the rest of the house well. Got both furnace and A/C installed the same day. Ernie was courteous, informative, and clearly knew his job better than anyone I’ve encountered before. The units look so good guests now get The Tour of our new system. Apollo is clearly not a fly-by-night company. I would recommend them to anyone in need of a new furnace and/or A/C."
- Jerry A.
"I called Apollo because of a water leak I thought I had in our upstairs shower going into the kitchen. Robbie came and assured me everything was fine & looked at all the other plumbing. He ended up changing a few pipes for our washer & clearing a drain. He was very nice & knowledgeable with all my questions. I ended up signing up for the care plan & was very happy with my service."
- Cassandra B.
"The team at Apollo exceeded my expectations. As a business owner, my attention to the details and commitment to providing excellent service is high. From the sales rep. to the installation team, everyone’s performance was outstanding. For example, the installation team went to great lengths to protect our floors, placing floor runners and across the wood floors and up the stairs. They even were spot washing walls upon their departure. I highly recommend this company."
- Randy B.
"We scheduled an estimate AND a tune-up. We knew something was wrong with our furnace, but hoped we could make it through the rest of the season. Upon telling Bill what our furnace was doing, he warned us immediately what the possible outcome was going to be; a cracked heat exchanger. He watched the flames roll backward, tested carbon monoxide levels, which were so high they meter’s last reading was 5,600 before saying “high”. He immediately shut it down, tagged it, and explained that with levels that high and children in our home he wanted off right away. He continued his inspection and showed us via a camera that not only was it cracked in multiple places, but had holes all over it. He gave us a few options for repairing it; his knowledge as well as genuine concern was beneficial and refreshing. Luckily we also scheduled an estimator, Micah, to come too and we were able to get costs between repairing and replacing (with several options). We decided to replace with a much higher efficiency furnace and one sized properly to our home. Hands down, not only did they both provide us great service and knowledge, but without sounding dramatic, they may have saved our lives. This was our first time calling Apollo, but it won’t be our last."
- Sarah B.
"Apollo is an excellent company. I always receive great service. Alex A. was professional and friendly. He kept me informed during the process of checking my furnace and heat pump to make sure they were working properly. The company makes sure you are notified who is coming and when they are on the way. All my interactions with the company have been wonderful."
- Beverly S.
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