If you’re in the market for a new heating system, the chances are you’re feeling a little pressed for time. It is winter after all, and temperatures are only getting chillier. But before you rush out for the biggest furnace you can afford, remember, bigger doesn’t always mean better. In fact, in the case of this heating system, bigger might not mean better at all. It may be worse.
The fact of the matter is, the size of your furnace can have a huge impact on its functionality. It’s important that your furnace is carefully sized for your specific home.
And remember, proper sizing is just half the battle! Installing a furnace isn’t a small job—it requires specific experience, skills, and even licensing (especially in the case of a gas-powered furnace that has to be hooked up to a main gas line). Trust us, you don’t want an undersized or an oversized system. Read on to learn why!
The Problem with an Undersized Furnace
As you might imagine, an undersized heating system won’t be able to adequately provide your household with the warmth and comfort that you deserve. The system will have to work much harder and run longer than it should have to in order to keep up with your heating demands. This is understandably problematic!
An overworked furnace will require repairs more frequently, plus it will succumb to natural wear and tear faster than a properly sized system. Overall, an undersized system will cost you a lot more money in the long run than a heater should. But again, that doesn’t mean “biggest is better.”
The Problem with an Oversized Furnace
As we alluded to above, homeowners are often tempted to go with the biggest furnace system they can afford, because they think it will be the most successful at keeping them comfortable all winter long. But, an oversized furnace is susceptible to a number of problems. The biggest of these problems is short-cycling.
Short cycling describes the process where a furnace turns on and off rapidly. This can happen with an air conditioner as well, and signifies that the system is too large, or there is an electrical fault. The former is more of a possibility if the short-cycling starts right after installation.
What happens with an oversized furnace is that it heats up the home too fast, causing the system to shut off before it even completes a full heating cycle. Once the home cools down a little, the furnace restarts but only runs a short time again. This puts a strain on your furnace and wastes a lot of energy, since furnaces use the most energy cycling on and off.
“How Do I Get the Right Sized System?”
By contact our professionals before selecting a furnace for installation! We’ll conduct something called a heat load calculation, where we determine the appropriate sized system for your home, based on a number of factors. These factors include how many rooms your home has, how many windows and doors, how high the ceiling is, and more.
Get your furnace problems “Fixed, At the Speed of Life” when you contact our team for your Johns Creek heating services. Reach out to
DC Cheek Heating, Cooling & Plumbing today!
