Why Furnace Proper Sizing Matters

Posted: 2020-11-12

Most homeowners looking for heating systems are caught by feature-packed furnaces and high energy efficiency ratings. They fail to consider other essential aspects of choosing the right heating system for their home. As a result, they never get the comfort they expected, pay higher utility bills than they should, and ultimately regret making a poor decision.

Proper sizing may not be as popular as other factors when choosing a furnace, but it significantly impacts your comfort, your furnace’s performance, its lifespan, and your monthly energy costs.

Here’s a fact: when it comes to HVAC systems, including furnaces, bigger is not always the better. If you want to get the most savings and superb comfort, you should have an appropriately sized furnace installed in your home.

Four Seasons Air Specialists is your top heating company in Centerville MN. We have been helping homeowners like you pick the right furnace for their homes for over 40 years.

Why Consult an HVAC Professional

Several considerations need to be carefully addressed to choose the right heating system for your home. Failure to examine them can result in a wrong decision.

One of the main factors that need to be determined is the size of the space you want to heat. This will indicate how large or how small the system you should consider. The number of people living in the house should also be taken into account. The number and frequency of ducts should not be neglected either. 

The calculations can only be done correctly with the help of duly trained and experienced heating pros.

Several important factors you need to consider when correctly sizing a furnace include the following:

•                    The local climate

•                    Size, shape, and orientation of the house

•                    Insulation levels

•                    Window area, location, and type

•                    Air infiltration rates

•                    The number and ages of occupants

•                    The comfort preferences of occupants

•                    The types and efficiencies of lights and major home appliances (heat-generating sources)

When a Furnace is not Sized Properly

Having a wrong-sized furnace installed in your home isn’t something you recognize immediately. Most of the time, homeowners are fine having their unit professionally installed as long as the system runs. Unfortunately, there are drawbacks to improperly sized furnaces.

For example, when a furnace is too large for your home, it will heat your home too quickly, leaving your home hot and humid. Also, by warming up your house too abruptly, it tends to turn on and off prematurely, which unnecessarily uses fuel and energy.

Since the furnace uses most of its energy to start and heat up, an improperly sized furnace has more expensive operational costs than a properly sized unit.

Another problem to expect is excessive noise coming from the furnace. While the system does create some sounds during startup and running, too much noise is a cause for concern. If your furnace is distributing more air than what your ducts can handle, more noise is going to be produced, telling you to call an HVAC professional for help.

On the other hand, if your furnace is undersized, it will run for extended periods, raising the temperature to the point of being overloaded. As expected, this problem causes an increase in your utility bills. This will also create untimely wear and tear as a petite furnace struggles to keep up with your home’s heating needs.

Proper sizing eliminates all of these problems and helps your furnace heat your home with the maximum possible efficiency.

The Advantages of Having a Properly Sized Furnace

Comfort and energy-efficiency are two of the essential benefits of having a properly sized heating system. During the cold months, you are likely to spend more time indoors, so it is crucial to have a furnace that delivers your comfort needs at the lowest possible costs.

A properly sized furnace heats your home much faster and in the most energy-efficient ways. You will notice a significant drop in your utility bills each month compared to running an improperly sized unit. You will also avoid repeated repair jobs because the system works in the best conditions.

Low operational sound is another reward of having the right furnace. It does not have excessive noises because there is no pressure within the system.

Work Only with the Trusted Heating Pros

Four Seasons Air Specialists has over four decades of substantial experience in the HVAC industry. We have helped countless homeowners pick the right furnace for their homes. We are your trusty Lino Lakes furnace installation company.