Home Heating - Choosing a New Furnace
As winter approaches, everyone begins to think about the furnace. Will in kick on? Will it last through another long, cold winter? Should we install a new furnace? If so, with what kind? If these questions are familiar to you, keep reading as we try to "demystify" a couple of household heating sources.
The most important step to take before starting the furnace for the season is to have it inspected by a licensed professional. They will clean the furnace, make sure it is in good working order, they will also recommend any parts that will need to be serviced or replaced in the near future.
If the furnace inspector tells you that it is time to replace the furnace, you may be overwhelmed by the choices in today's' furnace market. There are the standard gas, oil and electric furnaces as well as the newer outdoor wood furnaces and corn-fueled furnaces to name a few. There is lots of information available on these newer furnaces on the internet, however, a quick overview will be provided here.
One of the most popular options today is an outdoor heating source. It uses the old standby of wood, but eliminates the mess and smell associated with burning wood. An outdoor wood heating unit is placed approximately 500ft from the house. The wood burner itself is built inside of a small building, this often is made to look like a smaller house or shed. The heat is carried from the burner via heated water, which runs through underground, insulated pipes. This is the most effective and efficient method for moving heat over distances. Once the heated water reaches its destination, there are a couple of options for actually heating the home. Using a boiler, radiant floor heating system, a heat exchanger or a forced air furnace that is powered by a direct circulation system. The wood burning system can also do double duty to heat household water if a water-to-water heat exchanger is installed.
Although there are many advantages to using an outside wood burning furnace, it has a down side to its use as well. The cost can be quite high for most people, running approximately $5,000 installed. This of course, depends upon what part of the country you live in.
Another alternative to the traditional furnace that is gaining in popularity is the corn burning furnace. This type of furnace uses shelled corn (the same kind fed to livestock) to heat a home. While this is a viable source of heat it is not fool proof, it does have drawbacks that need to be considered before making a final decision.
Corn fuel furnaces are comparable to a convention furnace as far as price is concerned, costing roughly $2,000. It uses corn that has no more than 15% moisture content; fortunately, this is the same percentage of moisture as feed corn, making it very easy to obtain from a local elevator. The cost of burning corn as compared to propane is approximately one bushel of corn is to 5.5 gallons of propane fuel. Corn is also a natural and renewable resource, and keeps farmers in business while keeping your heating costs down.
On the other side, corn fed furnaces need daily cleaning to be efficient. They also run on an electric fan system, if you lose electricity, you lose heat also. For this reason, its best to either have a generator or a back up furnace for emergencies.
Being armed with the knowledge of these types of heating sources will make you a more educated consumer when it is time to replace an old, worn out furnace.
Household Furnace
Household Furnaces, used to disperse cold from within a structure and provide hot water, have several different means of production and require any one of a variation of fuel sources: natural gas, fuel oil, coal, or wood.
The two most common household furnaces are combustion and condensation. The first kind requires an exhaust and relies on burning fuel to generate heat. The second recycles heat by extracting it from the exhaust gases. This kind, being acidic, is designed to prevent corrosion and has a condensate pump to remove any water buildup that will occur.
Heat distribution also has different means. If the means of heat distribution require water or steam, the mechanical device generating the heat is commonly referred to as a boiler. Many modern furnaces in the United Stated, however, use forced-air heat. Convection, or air distribution, directs cold air into a heating chamber and then blows it out through a system of ductwork into the structure.
When installing any type of new heating unit, it is highly reccomended that you reline your existing flue with a new
Stainless Steel 316Ti chimney liner system. Todays high efficiency heating units send alot more heat into the room and less up the chimney, causing moisture and condensation to build-up on the interior walls.of the flue. This moisture is highly corrosive and can totally deteriorate a clay or masonry chimney flue in just a few short years.
Select a good brand chimney liner kit and we dare to compare quality of any other Stainless Steel 316Ti kit against
The Flex King Pro Smooth Wall.
FLEX KING PRO
Double Wall. Made from a single strip of .005 Stainless Steel
Total overall thickness .012
Smooth wall on the inside increases the draft by 20%
100% leakproof, air tight and unbreakable lock
All purpose for use on oil, wood and gas
Tested and approved to UL-1777 Zero Clearance
Corrugated interlocked seam on the outside to provide strength and flexibility
Flex King Pro?- Is it tough?
The proof is in the picture. This is not trick photography. This liner is holding a 265lb man without crushing. Add a few more men and it will still hold strong. What does this mean? No one is going to stand on your chimney liner when it's in your chimney, but just knowing that you have a strong and sturdy liner will give you peace of mind. Flex King Pro has a total overall thickness of .012in. - that's double the thickness of traditional flexible liners
For more information call :Chimney Liner Depot (800) 943-1515
or go to http://www.chimneylinerdepot.com/
