If you’re interested in getting a new heating system for your home, a furnace is one of the most popular options on the market today. Furnaces can run on electricity, natural gas, heating oil, or propane. Let’s analyze the differences between an electric and natural gas furnace.
How Does an Electric Furnace Work?
An electric furnace works in unison with ductwork to deliver warm air throughout your home. The process starts with your furnace’s blower fan kicking on and pulling in cold air from the various rooms of your home. All this air is pushed over a heating element, where it absorbs heat. The now-hot air is delivered back to the rooms of your home. As you may have guessed, the heating element is powered solely by electricity.
How Does a Natural Gas Furnace Work?
A natural gas furnace works similarly to an electric furnace in the sense that air is pulled in through ductwork. However, this type of system relies on burning natural gas to create heat, which is known as the combustion process. As your furnace burns natural gas and creates heat, air travels through its heat exchanger, absorbing the heat. Then, the hot air returns to the rooms of your home.
Operating Efficiency
One of the first areas that most homeowners are concerned with is the overall efficiency of a heating system. When comparing an electric furnace to a gas one, the electric one will be more efficient. Electric furnaces have an efficiency rating of 100%. This means that all the energy that goes into it, in this case, electricity, is converted into heat energy.
Because natural gas uses the combustion process to create heat, it always loses some of its input in the burning process. A gas furnace can have two types of efficiency levels. Standard gas furnaces, known as mid-efficiency furnaces, have an efficiency rating of around 80 to 85%. The second class is high-efficiency gas furnaces, which have an efficiency rating of between 90 and 90%.
Operating Costs
While efficiency is an important factor to consider, you must also put the whole process into perspective. This requires you to take into account the total input cost versus the amount of heat you’re getting out of the unit. While electricity and natural gas prices will vary depending on where you are in the country, electricity is almost always more expensive than natural gas.
Just because an electric furnace can give you 100% efficiency, you may be paying twice as much as compared to getting 80% efficiency from natural gas. Since operating costs will be your most significant expenditure throughout the winter months, it’s essential to consider this information when deciding on the right type of furnace for your home.
Installation Process
It’s best to have an HVAC professional install any new furnace purchase to ensure that you can take advantage of the warranty that comes along with it. Installing an electric furnace from scratch is typically easier and less invasive than installing a gas one. An electric furnace only requires wiring to be run to power it.
When it comes to natural gas, you will have to get a fuel line installed. This fuel line will run directly from the city’s natural gas supply line to your furnace. Realize that this line will run under the ground outside, which requires some excavation. There’s no doubt that installing a natural gas furnace from scratch is a labor-intensive process.
Lifespan
In general, most fuel-burning furnaces, like natural gas furnaces, will last you anywhere between 15 and 20 years. This is, of course, assuming the furnace receives regular maintenance service and upkeep. On the other hand, an electric furnace will last anywhere between 20 and 30 years. This lifespan simply comes down to how each unit creates fuel, as natural gas will be a dirtier process than electric.
Upfront Cost
The upfront cost is always a big concern for homeowners when investing in an HVAC system for their homes. While both offer the same heating capacity, an electric furnace is usually less expensive. Gas furnaces usually cost between one and a half and two times more than electric furnaces. It’s also vital to remember that a gas furnace will cost more upfront to install because of its necessary fuel line.
Comfort
Because electric furnaces generate heat differently than gas furnaces, they don’t produce the same level of comfort for homeowners. Furnaces heat air to a lower temperature than their gas counterparts, requiring an electric furnace to run more often to get your home up to your specific temperature setting.
Gas furnaces not only get up to temperature faster but also heat the air to a higher temperature. This allows your gas furnace to run less often while providing more comfort for your family. This is why gas furnaces are more common in colder climates than electric furnaces.
Maintenance Needs
Any furnace you purchase, regardless of the fuel source it uses, will require annual maintenance service from a licensed technician. In many cases, the service is a requirement to maintain the warranty coverage on your system. Additionally, electric and gas furnaces require you to regularly change the HVAC filter in your ducting.
The main maintenance difference between the two furnace types is that natural gas furnaces require chimneys to vent the exhaust fumes. As a homeowner, it’s recommended that you have your chimney swept and inspected each year. This not only helps to ensure your safety but also prevents the restriction of exhaust fumes out of your chimney.
Safety
While both natural gas and electric furnaces are considered fairly safe for home use, it is important to point out the difference in their heat-creation process. Because natural gas furnaces use the combustion process to create heat, they emit exhaust fumes that can be extremely toxic to humans. If your heating system develops a problem, the toxic fumes could back up inside your home and present a danger to inhabitants.
For this reason, it is required in many local codes to have carbon monoxide detectors in your home if you are using a natural gas furnace. You don’t have to worry about those harmful fumes with an electric furnace. Some homeowners find more peace of mind in an electric furnace than investing in one that burns natural gas.
Reliable Furnace Installation Service
Western Pacific Heating, Cooling & Airflow offers trusted furnace installation service to homeowners throughout the Vancouver, BC, community. Our professional technicians can assist with all your construction, cooling, and heating repair, maintenance, and installation needs. Customer satisfaction is our top priority, so you can always expect top-quality workmanship and exceptional customer service from our team. Since 2020, we have exceeded expectations with our reliable services. Our goal is to help you maintain your home comfort year-round.
To schedule your furnace installation, simply contact our office today, and our helpful staff will book your appointment.