Fall is the right time to replace an old or malfunctioning heater with a new one. Temperatures in the La Habra, CA area are finally falling after a long Indian summer, and soon you’ll have need of your heating system almost every day. If your existing heater has run its course, you still have a few weeks to schedule a replacement, which gives you the time to select the proper unit for your home. A trained technician can help you make that selection after performing a heating audit of your home to determine your needs. In particular, here are a few things you should look for:
Sizing
Sizing in this case doesn’t refer to the physical size of the heater (though you will need to factor that in as well). Specifically, it refers to the heating output of the system, which needs to be tailored to fit the size of your home. Obviously, an underpowered heater won’t be able to warm your home sufficiently. But overpowered heaters can cause problems as well. By heating the home too quickly, they can engage in short cycling — turning on and off rapidly — which uses an inordinate amount of energy was well as increasing strain on the whole system.
Efficiency
Once you’ve determined the proper power levels of the system, the next step is to find the most efficient heater in your size. Heater efficiency is determined by the AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) rating, a simple equation determining the percentage of consumed fuel that actually goes into heating the home. (The rest is lost to inefficiency.) The higher the percentage, the more efficient the heater, making this determination a fairly easy one.
Contact the pros at JC Mechanical today to advise you on a new heating system, then perform the installation with courtesy and care!