If you’re preparing for the winter with the installation of a heating system for your home, you have a number of choices. Most homes use a furnace, but not all furnaces are the same. The majority of furnaces run off either electricity or natural gas. If your home doesn’t have a natural gas main, then you won’t have a difficult choice to make when it comes to furnaces—you’ll have to go with an electric model. (You might also want to consider a heat pump.) But if you do have access to natural gas, we strongly recommend using a gas furnace instead of an electric one. Below are some of the reasons why:
Less costly to run
Although electric furnaces have extremely high efficiency ratings—meaning they convert most of their power into heat—they cost much more to operate than gas furnaces. This is because natural gas costs less than electricity, and a gas furnace doesn’t have to burn much of its fuel supply to deliver heating. An electric furnace is a less expensive option to install, but that won’t balance out the much higher cost of running it compared to a gas furnace.
Heating power
Minnesota winters are proverbially cold, and natural gas furnaces can produce the heat levels that can deal with even the chilliest night here, or a drafty home with poor insulation. No other type of heating system can deliver as high of temperatures as fast as a gas furnace.
Clean burning
Compared to other fossil fuel sources, natural gas burns cleanly and creates few emissions.
Durability
Natural gas furnaces break down less often than electric furnaces, making them generally more reliable. You can expect a gas furnace to give you from 16 to 20 years of solid service before you need to consider a replacement.
To arrange for natural gas furnace services in Woodbury, MN or throughout the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, call Freedom Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.