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Thermal Group knows that our Canadian
winters are often long and cold. We know that
protecting your family and loved ones and ensuring
their comfort on long winters is of the utmost
importance. That's why Thermal Group offers
our clients only the highest in quality heating
systems. In addition, we ensure efficient,
professional installation and maintenance of your
heating system to help you maximize the investment
you place in your home heating system.
From the our very first conversation
with our clients we will make every effort to ensure
that you get personalized service, value and
reliability. Our dedication to customer
service and integrity will allow you to be sure that
you can relay on both Thermal Group and the heating
system we will install for you.
Thermal Group offers only the
highest quality systems. Correct design,
installation, and maintenance of your custom
centralized heating system helps maximize the return
on your investment.
Thermal Group will install and
maintain most any heating system. However, the
most common heating systems are Furnaces, Boilers
and Water Heaters. We offer a wide range of
heating products and are authorized dealers for Ruud
and Keeprite Furnaces -- both superior quality,
affordable, reliable manufacturers.
Home Heating Systems:
The Basics
While there are several models and
types of furnaces available on the market today a
furnace is basically a device used to heat your
home. Today most units are forced air systems
that will provide central heating and distribute
warm air throughout your home (some homes do still
have hot water heating, baseboard electric or even
wood stoves).
Choosing a Furnace:
AFUE Rating
(Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency)
Most furnaces on the market in Canada
today generally run anywhere between 90 and 95%
efficiency. Some run as high as 96% efficient.
By saying that a furnace is 96% efficient it simply
means that 96% of the energy the goes into the
furnace is then transformed into heat. One may
see an older furnace (15-20 years+) run at only 60%
efficiency. In this case then a home owners
heating bill may be as much as 30% higher.
In the cold weather months that we
see in Canada a furnace with an AFUE rating of 90%
or above is recommended. The only exception
may be cottage homes that are not occupied for any
extended period of time in the winter months.
Variable Speed Fan vs. Single Speed Fan.
The option to have variable or single speed fans
is one that many consumers do not realize exists.
The fan on your furnace will run any time the
heating or air conditioning units turns on.
However, many homeowners choose to run their fans
24/7 in order to provide a constant filtration of
the air in their home, providing much better air
quality. This constant running of the fan also
helps provide a more even temperature throughout the
home.
Running a Single Speed Fan throughout the year will
cost most homeowners $200 or more (especially with
Ontario's new Metered Billing Program.
However, a Variable Speed Fan will
significantly reduce the cost but varying the speed
of the fan. On average, the cost of running a
Variable Speed Fan is about $30 per year.
Single Stage vs. Two-Stage Furnace
When looking at a Single Stage furnace one
need's only realize that the furnace's burners all
fire at once and at a fixed heating level. The
thermostat in your home will tell the furnace to
turn on (when the temperature drops below a
pre-determined temperature), the gas valves will
open and the burner flame will ignite. When
the temperature reaches the desired (preset)
temperature the burners will turn off.
On the other hand, a Two-stage gas
furnace will use a microprocessor along with a
two-stage gas valve to control the burners at a high
or low rate, depending on the heat demand. When the
outside temperatures are moderate, the burners
operate at a lower rate. If the outside temperatures
are very cold, then the furnace will operate at the
higher rate in order to keep up with the demand.
Some models change stages based on a fixed period of
time, while others use a computer program to
“analyze” the previous run times and adjust
accordingly. |
