Heating, cooling and beyond
All manufacturers will be forced to comply with US Department of Energys mandated Fan Energy Rating standard beginning July, 2019. What this means to you - the homeowner - is a more efficient blower motor on your gas furnace but a higher upfront cost when it comes time to replace it & likely a physically wider furnace which could be a problem in some applications. According to the DOE, more efficient fans will reduce carbon emissions by as much as 34 million metric tons (equivalent to the annual electricity use of 4.7 million homes), and save Americans more than $9 billion in home electricity bills through 2030. To date, the vast majority of furnaces are equipped with standard induction motors, which operate at about 60-65 percent efficiency. The new standard, according to a report in The News (HVAC industry newsletter) is likely to create an industry wide shift to more efficient ECM motors. A gas furnace in an average home uses 1,000 kwh of electricity a year. Consumers who pay 14 cents per kwh for electricity now spend approximately $140 a year to move conditioned air around the house. A 46% savings would drop that bill by $67 a year.
