When furnace repair is no longer a viable option to keep your existing furnace running, it’s time to investigate your options for furnace replacement. Columbus, Ohio, homeowners have many furnace brands to choose from when buying gas furnaces or oil furnaces. Carrier furnaces, Lennox furnaces, Goodman furnaces, Trane furnaces, Bryant furnaces, Rheem furnaces, and heating and cooling products made by other brands and furnace manufacturers are common HVAC system choices in area homes.
There are so many top furnace brands on the market, which can make it difficult to determine which are the best furnace brands. The best furnace brand is something that is going to be different for every homeowner, as we all have different heating needs, different budgets, and different preferences as far as furnace system features go. Some furnace brands are known for their long history and reputation as quality furnace brands that build the most efficient furnaces with ENERGY STAR certifications. Other HVAC brands produce affordable furnaces with budget-friendly average furnace installation costs and respectable annual fuel utilization efficiency AFUE ratings.
If you are exploring furnace installation for your Columbus area home, turn to Buckeye Heating, Cooling & Plumbing for the professional guidance needed to evaluate reliable brands and find the furnace brand that produces the right HVAC unit for your home. All furnaces are installed with proper installation, no matter the furnace brand you select.
Different furnace brands offer various oil and gas furnace models, so there may be several top furnace brands that offer the type of furnace needed in your home. Before you start comparing furnace brands, you need to figure out your basic criteria for a new home furnace. Doing so will help you narrow down your oil and gas furnace options and hone in on a furnace brand with heating units that fit the bill.
Before you shop for furnaces or other HVAC equipment, we recommend you make decisions regarding energy efficiency, fuel type, and capacity.
If you want to know how energy efficient a furnace is, look for its AFUE rating. AFUE stands for annual fuel utilization efficiency. This measure tells you how much of the fuel consumed by the furnace is actually used to make heating and how much of it is wasted throughout the heating process. The lowest efficiency furnace you can buy is 80% AFUE, but today’s gas furnaces go up to around 98% AFUE.
The energy efficiency of a home furnace will impact costs both now and in the future. The initial cost to purchase the most efficient furnaces and those with ENERGY STAR ratings will be higher than the average furnace installation costs of a standard efficiency furnace. Purchasing quality furnaces with high-efficiency ratings will result in lower ongoing costs versus purchasing standard efficiency furnaces, as these units require less fuel to heat the home.
Furnace companies make quality furnaces that run off of several different types of fuel, including heating oil, propane, natural gas, and electricity. The most common heating fuel used to power furnaces in Louisville is natural gas.
As you look for a new furnace from the major brands, you need to keep in mind the types of heating fuel available in your home. If your home is all-electric or you currently use propane or heating oil, it may be possible to hook up your home to natural gas utility lines and install gas piping throughout your living areas so you can use a gas furnace as well as other gas appliances. This home improvement project will require a significant investment on top of average furnace installation costs, which puts it out of the price range for many people.
While many people buy a new furnace that uses the same fuel type as their old one, switching to a different source of fuel can have its advantages. While electric furnaces are more energy efficient than gas furnaces according to efficiency ratings, these furnaces actually use more energy in the heating process. This excess energy consumption, paired with the high cost of electric utilities, can make an electric furnace more expensive to operate than a gas furnace. Homeowners using propane or oil furnaces must constantly monitor fuel supplies and schedule fuel deliveries – a simple error can leave you without heating fuel and force you to pay extra fees to restock your supply. Connecting to natural gas utility lines will allow you to access a consistent fuel source for your gas furnace without the extra costs.
Natural gas heating is so popular not only because of the low cost but for the comfort it provides. Gas furnaces are more affordable to operate over the life of the HVAC systems, and gas heating generates higher temperatures that allow homeowners to heat living areas faster with gas furnaces than they can with electric models.
Furnace size doesn’t refer to the physical dimensions of the actual furnace – size refers to the capacity of the unit and its ability to create heat. We measure furnace capacity in BTUs, which stands for British Thermal Units. This measure shares the amount of heating a furnace can generate to raise the temperature of a room or space to a comfortable level. Sizes for the average furnace installation in Columbus range from 36,000 BTUs to 120,000 BTUs.
When buying a high-quality furnace, it is critical that you size it correctly. If you buy a new furnace that is too large or too small for your living areas, you won’t get the performance and energy savings you expect from new HVAC systems. Incorrectly sized furnaces generate poor comfort control. These systems suffer excess stress and wear, which results in breakdowns and more calls for furnace repair. Oil and gas furnaces that aren’t sized correctly don’t last as long either, and the only way to correct the problems they cause is through furnace replacement.
Everyone has different needs and preferences when it comes to HVAC systems, so the best furnace brands tend to be a matter of personal opinion. Whether you’re shopping for an affordable gas furnace or looking for highly energy-efficient furnaces, it helps to know something about the major HVAC brands producing this equipment. Below you’ll find more information on leading furnace brands to help guide your decision.
For more than a century, Carrier has been at the forefront of innovation in the HVAC system industry. Carrier HVAC systems can be found in millions of homes throughout the world. Carrier furnaces includes several options from the Infinity, Performance, and Comfort series gas furnace lines. With the Performance and Comfort series gas furnace models, you’ll find options that range from affordable basic efficiency furnaces to furnaces with higher energy efficiency ratings. The Infinity series gas furnace models have energy efficiency ratings up to 98.5% and include components like modulating gas valves and variable blower motors to achieve efficient variable-speed operation.
Trane is a furnace brand that is well-regarded amongst its users, earning top marks for reliability and ease of use. Out of the different furnace brands, Trane is often considered a premium brand because the average furnace installation costs are typically higher when purchasing this equipment compared to furnaces made by other HVAC brands. When buying a new furnace from Trane, you have many options to choose from, with gas furnaces up to 97.3% AFUE, including single-speed and variable-speed furnaces.
Lennox has made innovative HVAC system equipment for over 100 years, producing the first riveted steel furnace in the 1890s. The modern line of Lennox furnaces includes oil furnaces and gas furnaces. Models offer single-speed and variable-speed operation with minimal operating noise.
Rheem is one of the HVAC brands that produce propane and natural gas furnaces. Rheem furnaces offer energy efficiency ratings up to 98.7% AFUE. Convenient features like a removable heat exchanger increase the ease of maintaining and servicing this unit.
The Goodman gas furnace company hasn’t been around as long as some of the other HVAC brands but has still managed to build a strong reputation for affordable and reliable furnace equipment. The Goodman furnace line includes furnace efficiency ratings up to 98%.
Bryant gas furnaces and oil furnaces Include a range of energy efficiency ratings and other smart features. You can find an oil or gas furnace with up to 98.3% AFUE as well as standard efficiency heating and cooling units.
The York gas furnace line is one of the best gas furnace brands, according to users. Their wide selection of furnaces and HVAC systems offer energy efficiency ratings up to 98% AFUE. Each York gas furnace is made right here in the USA, and customers appreciate the affordable cost of these gas furnaces.
Determining the best furnace brands can be difficult if you don’t know what to look for when shopping for gas furnaces. Buckeye Heating, Cooling & Plumbing will help you find the right furnace and provide quality installation in your Columbus area home. Call us today and request an estimate for furnace installation.