Furnace sizing depends on various factors, including local climate, size of the home, room configuration, and many other factors. Experienced heating technicians know how to do the calculations and get the sizing right. Both undersized and oversized furnaces can be problematic to run.
Dangers of Oversized Furnace
On the surface, you might think that an oversized furnace might not be as problematic as an undersized one. Unfortunately, such a furnace causes almost the same problems, albeit in different ways. Expect these three problems with your oversized furnace.
1. Energy Inefficiency
A furnace alternates between on and off cycles. Active heating occurs during the on-cycle as the furnace pushes warm air throughout the house. The furnace switches off once the indoor temperature matches the thermostat temperature.
The on and off cycles will be extremely short for an oversized furnace due to accelerated heating. Unfortunately, a typical furnace consumes more energy when starting than it does running. Thus, frequent startups will inflate your energy consumption. You will spend more energy heating your house than you would with a properly sized furnace.
2. Increased Wear and Tear
Apart from energy consumption, the wear and tear also increase when a furnace runs short cycles. The increased wear and tear mean your oversized furnace might break down more frequently than properly sized furnaces. Frequent breakdowns mean high ownership costs, frequent usage disruptions, and even reduced furnace lifetime.
3. Uneven Heating
You might also struggle with uneven heating if your furnace is oversized. The risk of uneven heating is even higher if you have a big house or a house with an unusual configuration that complicates airflow. After all, heated air from the furnace takes time to circulate all areas of the house. A short cycling furnace might shut down before all parts of the house warm up.
4. Excessive Noise
Lastly, you might also have to suffer excessive furnace noises if your system is oversized. A typical furnace makes some noise during the on cycles. The motors, blowers, burners, electrical relays, and ducts all make some noise. In ideal situations, the noise won’t bother a typical person.
Furnace noise differs with different factors, including model, noise rating, maintenance, and size. Thus, with an oversized furnace, you might have to suffer louder noises than you should.
Dangers of Undersized Furnace
Undersized furnaces are not common, but they do occur. Below are two major problems with undersized furnaces.
1. Energy Inefficiency
As mentioned above, an efficient furnace should alternate between on and off cycles. If you are using an undersized furnace, it will run longer than it should. An undersized furnace will take longer than it should take to heat your room due to its low heating output.
The furnace consumes a lot of energy when running since it needs to hear the air. The energy consumption reduces to minimal levels during the off-cycle when the furnace just needs to keep a few electronics, such as the thermostat, on. Thus, the lengthy cycles lead to energy inefficiency, just as is the case with oversized furnaces.
2. Increased Wear and Tear
Lastly, running an undersized furnace also leads to accelerated wear and tear. The acceleration arises because a typical furnace has multiple moving parts, which suffer wear and tear during the active cooling cycles. A longer runtime means more wear and tear, which means frequent breakdown and reduced lifespan, as previously discussed.
Get an experienced heating technician to size and install your furnace, and you won’t worry about furnace sizing issues. Once you have your furnace installed, don’t remodel your house without talking to us. Otherwise, your furnace might not match your remodeled house. Contact Apollo Heating & Air Conditioning for all your heating needs, and we will give you efficient solutions.