When Looking At Heating For Your Home Consider High Efficiency Gas Furnaces

In today's increasingly energy conscious society, one must consider the energy efficiency of every product they purchase. Whether it's your car's gas mileage or how much electricity your refrigerator uses, we've all become more aware of our energy usage.

There are two main reasons for this, and they're pretty obvious. One, inefficient energy use costs more money. It's safe to say we're all looking to lower our bills and switching to energy efficient appliances is a big step in that direction. The other reason to use high efficiency appliances is the understanding that many of our energy sources are finite. In other words, eventually we'll run out.

One of the biggest users of energy in our homes and workplaces are the heating units. Just like most other major household products, gas furnaces have become more efficient than ever before. Natural gas is an economical method for home heating and now you can find all sorts of high efficiency gas furnaces on the market.

High efficiency gas furnaces tend to cost more than conventional gas furnaces. This is for a couple reasons. They're not yet produced on the same scale as conventional furnaces so there are still cost factors to overcome which have to be passed on to the consumer. Secondly, high efficiency gas furnaces employ the latest technologies, which, as we all know, always kicks up the cost of a product. Innovation isn't free. However, keep in mind, that this is just an initial start-up cost. Sure, you may be laying down more money at the outset, but the money you'll save with a high efficiency gas furnace will soon make up the difference and even pay for itself in the end.

Investing in a high efficiency natural gas furnace is well worth it, and let's not forget the environment. An energy efficient furnace will use less fuel, which means using less natural resources, and which means releasing less greenhouse gases into our fragile atmosphere. That's a cost that can't be calculated in dollars.

These days, gas furnaces have stickers on them which gives their AFUE number. AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. A high efficiency natural gas furnace will have a AFUE number ranging from the high 80's to the high 90's. Furnaces with AFUE's below that range are considered medium efficiency. Such furnaces cost less but will also save you less in bills.

Another thing to look for when shopping for a high efficiency natural gas furnace is an Energy Star sticker. If it has an Energy Star label, that means its AFUE rating is in the 90's.

Remember, no matter how energy efficient your furnace is, you need to maintain it properly and keep it, along with your vents clean. A dirty or poorly maintained furnace will cause a drop in efficiency and increases in cost and fuel consumption.

There is plenty of helpful information available online and from your local furnace dealers. High efficiency natural gas furnaces may cost more at first, but the money you save and the benefit to the environment makes them a wise investment.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Florida. Find more about this as well as electric heaters at http://www.fireplacesandelectricheaters.com

Got Trees? An Outdoor Wood Furnace Will Cut Your Energy Bills Down To Size

If you live in a suburban or rural area near a source of cheap wood, you could heat your home for the entire season for the cost of one month’s electric heat bill. An outdoor furnace requires less tending, eliminates respiratory problems caused by burning wood indoors, and keeps the wood burning mess outside.

There are a surprising number of outdoor furnace manufacturers with a wide range of styles and designs to accommodate different heating capacities and fuel sources. Some of these furnaces have the capacity (500k Btu) for commercial applications.

Burns Best makes a corn or wood pellet version. Taylor Waterstoves has a multi-fuel model that burns coal or wood. Hardy Manufacturing makes an all stainless steel furnace with a built in hot water exchanger.

One of the selling points of an outdoor furnace is the convenience of locating it near the wood fuel source. Since the water heated by the furnace is pumped to your home through insulated, underground piping, the furnace can be set up as close as 2 feet, or as much as 500 feet from your house.

All outdoor furnaces are designed to work with any existing heating system and can be thermostatically controlled. If you have a forced air system, you can use the existing duct work but you will need to install a water-to-air heat exchanger in your furnace. Your furnace is still available as a back up.

If you already have radiant floor heating, you would connect the underground feed from the outdoor furnace to the existing circulating pump.

For radiant baseboard heat, you can connect the piping directly to an existing boiler or install a water-to-water heat exchanger. By adding the water-to-water exchanger, you receive the added benefit of free hot water while the existing furnace functions as back up.

An outdoor boiler can even be used to heat your swimming pool, driveway, work shop, greenhouse, or multiple buildings.

The firebox designs vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, but all are constructed from stainless or carbon steel. Although each manufacturer claims to be using a grade of stainless steel superior to the competition, they all agree that heat transfer efficiency is almost 3 times better with 16 gauge stainless steel than with 3/8" carbon steel. An all stainless steel firebox also resists rusting and burnout that occur in standard carbon steel.

Some fire boxes are large enough to accommodate a 30” diameter by 72” log. The problem I would have is getting a log that size into the firebox. Normally, outdoor furnaces are loaded twice a day. Burn times per load vary from 12 to 96 hours depending on what you’re heating, the outside temperature and how well your house is insulated.

One trait all outdoor furnaces have in common is versatility. What ever your heating needs are or the type of fuel you burn, it’s possible to design a system for any heating scheme you can imagine.

Alternative-Heating-Info.com offers a unique look into geothermal heating and cooling, radiant heating, solar heating systems and pellet burning stoves

What is an Outdoor Wood Furnace and Why You Should Own One

Throughout the world wood is used to heat a large number of homes and businesses.

Wood furnaces are used because they can save a home or business owner valuable money in heating costs. Wood furnaces can be a great heating method if they are used in a safe way. Unfortunately, many homeowners and business owners are not using their wood heating in the proper way.

Wood stoves are a popular source of home and business heating. They are a great way to heat a home or business and save money, but they can also be extremely dangerous. The reason why so many wood stoves are dangerous is because they are actually used inside.

There are many risks and dangerous associated with using an in-home wood heater.

Individuals using an inside wood stove to heat their home or business puts themselves at risk for having a fire. What many individuals fail to realize is that that same heating method can still be used, but in a safer way.

The use of an outdoor wood furnace is a great way to save money and keep your home or business safe. In addition to be safer to use, it has been noted that an outdoor wood furnace is likely to burn more efficiently than indoor wood stoves. There are many individuals who are more than happy with the money they are saving using an indoor wood stove; however, with more efficient burning an outdoor wood furnace could save even more money. Efficient burning also means that you will not have to feed wood into the fire multiple times a day. Many outdoor wood furnace models only require wood once a day; however, the exact amount will all depend on the model in question.

Anyone who has ever owned an indoor wood stove knows how difficult it can be to maintain the operation of the stove. The use of an outdoor wood furnace is so much easier. You will not have to worry about brining wood into your home or business. This means that you can cut wood outside and always keep it outside. This will not only save you valuable time, but it will prevent a number of bugs and other insects from entering your home or business via the wood you bring inside. In addition to keeping wood and bugs outside, you will also keep all smoke and dust outside. This means that your home or business could look and smell better with the use of an outdoor wood furnace.

Many outdoor wood furnaces come in the shape of a small building. This means that you can have an outdoor wood furnace without ruining the beauty of your property. In fact, many outdoor furnaces can be customized to match the color of your home or business.

With the ability to save money, keep a home clean, and your family safe why would you want to use a traditional wood stove any longer than you have to?

Get a great deal on a wood furnace