To stay warm in Indianapolis’ subzero winter temperatures without breaking the bank, you need a furnace that can handle your heating demands efficiently. A variable-speed furnace can both improve your comfort and cut your heating bills.
How a Variable-Speed Furnace Works
Older furnaces, known as single-stage furnaces, had blower fan motors with just two settings: high and off. Even when the house needed just a little heat, the motor still ran at full capacity, wasting energy. After this came the two-stage furnace, in which the motor has a high and low speed. When only a little heat is needed, the motor runs at the lower speed to save energy.
Today’s higher efficiency furnaces use variable-speed motors that can run at any speed within a set range, usually between 30 and 100 percent capacity. A microprocessor controls the motor and can fine-tune its speed to achieve the most efficient performance for any heating demand.
To further increase efficiency, these systems often use a modulating gas valve. These can adjust fuel output to precisely meet your heating needs as efficiently as possible.
Advantages of Variable-Speed Technology
Typically, your home needs only a little heat at a time to maintain a stable, comfortable temperature. In the average home, the furnace needs to run at full capacity only around 5 percent of the year. Your variable-speed system will spend most of the time running at lower speeds, saving energy and keeping your bills low.
Single- and two-stage furnaces push out large amounts of air quickly, causing temperature swings. Variable-speed systems provide air more slowly, which keeps your temperatures stable and prevents hot and cold spots.
Variable-speed systems run for longer periods than older, less-efficient systems. That means more of your home’s air is drawn through the air filter more often, providing you with higher indoor air quality.
Because it runs at low speeds most of the time, a variable-speed motor makes less noise than older motors, so you can enjoy a quieter home.
Considering upgrading to a variable-speed furnace? Contact us at Mowery Heating, Cooling and Plumbing in the Indianapolis area for guidance.
Our goal is to help educate our customers in Brownsburg, Indiana and surrounding areas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).
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