An 80 efficiency furnace burns natural gas using open combustion by pulling air from the surrounding area and exhausting the waste up the chimney.
Furnace efficiency 80 vs 95.
We recommend to everyone who buys a new furnace that they upgrade to something with a 95 afue or higher to get the most savings possible.
Still there are a few things to consider before committing to a furnace upgrade.
Both types of furnaces have single stage or two stage heating models.
Deciding between 80 96 efficient furnaces.
Assuming no mechanical problems as described above i d go with the 95 your tenant s heating bill will be approximately 16 less than with the 80 version.
We are often asked what the differences in 80 and 96 efficient furnaces are.
A standard efficiency furnace provides 80 annual fuel utilization efficiency afue.
If your house is well constructed and insulated the waste heat from the 95 furnace should suffice even if it s the only furnace in the basement.
A furnace with a 95 efficiency rating uses 95 of the fuel to produce and deliver heat to where it s needed.
But in one scenario 80 of the fuel is used to contribute to delivering heat whereas in the other scenario 95 of the fuel is used to contribute to delivering heat.
These days 95 afue is a common rating among new gas powered furnaces.
Obviously the 96 efficient furnace will be more efficient using natural gas to heat your home.
First of all high efficiency furnaces can have a higher price tag than standard models.
The same amount of money is spent on that fuel being used.
The higher cost can lead homeowners to either opt for a less efficient but cheaper replacement or to stay.
A 95 efficiency furnace uses sealed combustion where the heating unit pulls air in from outdoors instead of using air in the home.
To calculate those savings simply multiply the difference in afue 95 80 15 by your monthly or yearly bill amount.
But besides the level of efficiency another key difference between the 80 afue and 95 afue furnaces is that they operate a little differently.
On paper high efficiency furnaces seem like a good investment both in terms of energy bills and the environment.
In this type of furnace 20 of the energy produced by natural gas is expelled as exhaust.
So a 95 furnace is more efficient than an 80 furnace.
In fact it is 16 more efficient.
High efficiency furnaces offer 90 or more afue.
That means a 95 afue furnace will cost less to run than an 80 afue furnace.