Understanding the Efficiency Rating of Your Heater

November 8, 2021

Know What Gets You the Most Bang for Your Energy Buck!

If you aren’t sure if your home’s heating system will last through another cold winter season, or, you’ve already been toying with the idea of replacing the furnace or boiler in your South Shore home, now is actually a great time to do it.

Why’s that? For one, you will full-ensure that you have a reliable heating system for the months—and years—ahead. What’s better? You’ll begin getting a return on your investment from the moment you turn it on thanks to improved efficiency ratings that today’s high-efficiency heating systems have to offer.

So, the question remains: How do you know just how efficient a furnace or boiler will be?

To start, Frank Lamparelli’s equipment experts will give you a FREE estimate and help you choose the best quality, most efficient heating system that works within your needs—and budget. We can also help you with available financing and rebates to make your new furnace or boiler more affordable.

From here, we can also help you become more familiar with the term “AFUE”, which is often used when talking about furnaces and boilers. In fact, this may be one of the most essential things to look for when buying a furnace or boiler! It refers to how well a system uses its fuel each year. It stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency.

Why Does AFUE Matter?

The best comparison we can make is that the AFUE rating is comparable to your automobile’s miles per gallon or MPG. The higher the AFUE number, the more energy-efficient the furnace or boiler is. The amount of heating oil or propane used by the heating system compared to how much heat it generates throughout a heating season is measured by the AFUE.

Here’s an example:

The furnace or boiler you’re thinking about buying has an AFUE rating of 80. What that figure means is that 80% of the fuel it uses is converted to heat. The other 20% is lost in the conversion process. That translates to 80 cents of every dollar you spend on fuel goes towards heating your home.

When it comes to purchasing a new furnace or boiler, there is some really good news. Today’s high-efficiency furnaces and boilers are available with AFUE ratings of 95 or higher. When compared to systems as recent as just two decades ago, it’s nearly a night and day difference—and allows for great savings on your monthly energy bills!

The United States Department of Energy specifies typical AFUE ratings for heating systems. The current minimum standard for a new heating system is 80.

Low-efficiency: 56% – 70%. Mostly seen in older and outdated heating systems.
Medium-efficiency: 80% – 85%. Can be either new or older systems under 20 years old.
High-efficiency: 90% – 98.5%. This is found in most new or newer (meaning 2010 and later) heating systems.

Check on the faceplate if you want to find out the AFUE rating of your current furnace or boiler. The rating is generally shown there.

You can trust Frank Lamparelli with expert sales, installation, and service of your new oil- or propane-fired heating system. Interested in replacing your existing home system? Contact us today for your FREE estimate and we can help you get started.