Furnace Articles

Let’s face it—there’s never a good time for the heat to go out in your New Jersey home. You certainly don’t want to wait until your heating system stops working for you to realize you need a replacement!

Maintaining your heating and cooling equipment ensures it’ll run smoothly the way it should when you need it. Investing your time and money in these seasonal maintenance tasks goes a long way to protect both your New Jersey home and your HVAC investment, including your wallet. Well-running systems are more energy efficient, so they end up costing you less to run all season long.

While an air conditioner’s efficiency is measured by its SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio) rating, an electric or gas- or oil-fired furnace’s efficiency is measured by its AFUE, or average fuel utilization efficiency. This standard measurement is given in percentages, letting you know how much of your fuel is actually used to heat your New Jersey home and how much fuel is wasted. The higher the AFUE rating, the more efficient the unit is. Typically the ratings or percentages you’ll see on new furnaces range from 80 to 100 percent (contingent upon the fuel type of furnace being rated). If a furnace has an AFUE of 80 percent, this means the furnace converts 80 percent of the fuel to heat your house, while the remaining 20 percent is lost, usually out the chimney.

If your heating or air conditioning system suddenly stops working in your Howell home, it’s easy to think the worst. However, sometimes the malfunction is not really caused by your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system at all, but actually from a broken thermostat.

The average furnace lasts between 10 and 15 years. But did you know you can take steps to make it last longer? There is no shortcut or hack to increase your furnace’s longevity. In reality, the key is treating your Howell system with care and respect. With just a small amount of time and energy, you can ensure your furnace will live well beyond its warranty. From our team here at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, here are four things you should do to make your furnace last longer:

Is your furnace blowing air without pause? If so, you’re probably feeling a bit concerned. First, your Howell house most likely feels like an oven. On top of that, your utility bill will be considerably higher with your furnace constantly running. Believe it or not, this is a fairly common problem our professionals at 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning see frequently, so you don’t need to worry.

A furnace is a major investment for any Point Pleasant homeowner. Although it’s not something that will need to be done frequently, most people will face the decision of needing to purchase a new heating system sometime during home ownership.

Even if you have not thought about your furnace for months—it is easy to overlook if it is stationed in the basement or hidden in a closet—fall is the perfect time to make sure the most important seasonal equipment in your home is ready for action.

Short cycling is a term used in the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) world to explain a situation where a furnace or air conditioner turns on and off too frequently. The “short cycle” is the period of time that your HVAC equipment is actually running, and the shorter this cycle, the harder your system…

Furnace filters. They’re one of those items not really on the top of everyone’s minds, but they are important and can have a big impact. At 1st Choice Heating & Air Conditioning, we know with the right furnace filter, you can save money and improve your Howell indoor air quality (IAQ) in one fell swoop.…

Did you finally turn your furnace on this winter only to have cold air blowing out of your vents? Or did your furnace stop working just when you started to need it most? There are a few reasons your furnace may be blowing cold air, and there a few things to check before you need…

Is your energy bill too high in the winter? Are you looking for ways to cut costs? There are a number of simple things you can do at home to save money. Some of them are bigger projects, but most are simple things you can do in your day-to-day life to help reduce your heat…

It’s easy to moan when you decide that a major appliance or home system needs replacing. After all, these are expensive investments and probably not your favorite way to spend your hard-earned money. Unfortunately, there’s often not a clear-cut message, short of an appliance completely breaking down, that definitively indicates it’s time to buy a…