It’s often said that technology isolates humankind from nature. If it does, it’s only by a thin margin. The only things separating the person indoors from the elements outside are a home’s walls, roof, and heating system. Should the system fail, the cold outdoor temperatures will soon make their way inside. That’s why it’s best to have an understanding of how your heating system works. Here are the answers to three commonly asked home heating questions.
What is a heat pump?
Heat normally flows from a warm space to a cold space. However, a heat pump forces heat to flow in the opposite direction. Doing this requires energy, much like how it takes energy to pump water up out of the ground against gravity. The heat pump that warms your home uses electrical power to force heat to flow from the outdoors into your much warmer home. While this seems odd, it isn’t any more unusual than a water pump using energy to force water to flow uphill.
Another interesting fact is that your air conditioner is a heat pump that runs backward. That is, it forces heat to flow out of your cooled home to the outside on a hot summer day.
Why is my heating bill so high?
There are a number of possible reasons for this:
- Your thermostat is set too high. The greater the temperature difference between the indoors and outdoors, the faster your home loses heat.
- Your home is poorly insulated. A poorly insulated home has less resistance to heat flow through its walls and roof.
- Your home heating system is inefficient. An inefficient heating system can sometimes be repaired to increase efficiency but sometimes will need to be replaced entirely, depending on what is wrong and how old the system is.
What does AFUE mean?
AFUE is an acronym for “Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency.” It’s the fuel efficiency of your heating system. It’s the percentage of energy in your heating gas that actually warms up your home. An AFUE rating of 95 percent means that 95 percent of the energy in the gas you pay for goes into heating your home. A low AFUE means higher heating bills because more of the heat energy in the gas you pay for is wasted. AFUE ratings for heating systems typically range from 80 percent to percentages in the upper nineties.
If your heating system isn’t up to par, give us a call – we’d be happy to come take a look at it and make suggestions for improvement.