What Is an AFUE Rating?
AFUE is short for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. The rating was created for heaters as a way of standardizing operation measurements so that you can compare heaters side-by-side, and make an educated decision. After all, you want to choose the furnace that works best for your home and family. Industry jargon may not mean a whole lot to you, but a standardized rating system makes it easy to compare one heater to another one using similar terms.
How Are AFUE Ratings Measured?
AFUE ratings go up to 98% and are based on percentages. To put it simply, an AFUE rating tells you how much heat a furnace can produce based on the amount of energy that it consumes. The minimum efficiency rating in the United States is 80. Any heater that is less than 80% efficient is not legally allowed to be installed for use.
A heater with an AFUE rating of 80 is able to produce heat with 80% of the energy used. This means that the other 20% of energy is lost during the heating process and doesn’t contribute directly to heating your home. The higher the rating, the more heat that a furnace is able to produce, making it more efficient.
What Is a High-Efficiency Furnace?
Furnaces are considered high efficiency with a rating of 90 or higher. This means that 10% or less of the energy used gets lost during the heating process. The more heat that your furnace is able to produce, the less energy it needs to use during each heating cycle. 10% more or less energy may not seem like a lot, but it can add up quickly on your monthly energy costs. This is especially true when you add up the savings – or additional costs – over the life of your heater.
Why Is Efficiency Important in a Furnace?
But efficiency in a furnace is also important for other reasons. A furnace that is more energy efficient won’t have to work as hard to keep your home warm. When your furnace does not have to work as hard, it doesn’t take on as much strain that produces wear and tear on the system. This means that your heater has the potential for a longer lifespan.
Plus you may not need to make as many repairs over the life of your heater thanks to a reduction in working effort. So in addition to saving money on your monthly energy costs, you’re also saving money by making fewer repairs over the life of your heater when you have a high-efficiency model.