Living in Toronto makes you appreciate the fact we have heating in our houses and it is unfortunate when heating breaks down in the middle of winter.
Our Heating Solutions are designed to ensure that you have the best possible heating system customized to the requirements of your home or office, and our knowledgeable crew is committed to fast, reliable service that will never leave you in the cold.
Toronto Heating Solutions: Furnaces – Classification & Types
A furnace is an integral part of our heating solutions; it is a significant appliance which is permanently installed to supply heating to an interior area by means of intermediary fluid motion, which may be air, steam, or hot water. The most popular fuel source for modern-day furnaces & heaters in Canada is natural gas; other popular fuel sources include LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), fuel oil, coal or wood. In some cases electrical resistance heating is used as the source of heat, especially where the cost of electricity is low.
Combustion furnaces always need to be vented to the outside. Traditionally, this was through a chimney, which tends to expel heat along with the exhaust. Modern high-efficiency furnaces can provide heating solutions while maintaining upto a 98% efficiency rate and operate without a chimney. The small amount of waste gas and heat are mechanically ventilated through a small tube through the side or roof of the house.
How to choose the right heating solutions for your Toronto Home
Before choosing the right heating solutions for your home or office, it is important to understand the pros and cons of different heating systems.
Modern household furnaces are classified as condensing or non-condensing based on their efficiency in extracting heat from the exhaust gases. Furnaces with efficiencies greater than approximately 89% extract so much heat from the exhaust that water vapor in the exhaust condenses; they are referred to as condensing furnaces. Such furnaces must be designed to avoid the corrosion that this highly acidic condensate might cause and may need to include a condensate pump to remove the accumulated water. Condensing furnaces can typically deliver heating savings of 20%-35% assuming the old furnace was in the 60% Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) range. Reach out to our expert team for consultation on the heating solutions best for you!
When should I replace my furnace?
When it comes, replacing your household furnace, ideally you don’t want to wait until your furnace completely dies on you before replacing it. That being said, most furnaces have a lifespan of 20 to 30 years, depending on the climate where you live, and the brand of furnace currently installed in your home. As such, after about 15 or so years, you may need to consider a furnace replacement, if your unit is experiencing significant problems that require additional repairs to the system. Furnaces are designed to last a long time, however like everything else they still wear out over a decade or two.
You can always expand the lifespan of your furnace with regular maintenance, such as, filter changes, cleaning the burners, and hiring a HVAC technician in Toronto to perform annual inspections of your furnace unit, along with a tune up before the winter season.
What are some of the signs your furnace needs to be replaced?
Wondering when the best time to replace your furnace is, here are a few important factors to take into consideration when determining whether your furnace needs to be replaced. Note: some of these warning signs may only indicate that a repair or maintenance is required. Although, as you near the end of the appliance’s lifespan, these repairs can be an indication that it’s time to replace the furnace entirely.
- Frequent repairs are required for your furnace to function efficiently, all of which can become increasingly expensive.
- Your furnace is starting to make unusual noises, such as a buzzing or rattling sound.
- The furnace is starting to disperse dust, soot, or rust, especially around the register or there is rust, cracks, or corrosion in and around the furnace.
- Your furnace unit is becoming increasingly unreliable, turning on and off more frequently.
- The heat exchanger for the furnace is cracked.
- Your heating bills continue to increase despite a decrease in the amount your furnace unit is used.
- The heat in your home is distributed unevenly, with some rooms warmer than others.
- The humidity in your home has started to increase.
For Better Trouble Shooting on a furnace replacement or repair, call Tropic Air Toronto HVAC technician’s to inspect your old furnace and suggest you best options.
How do you calculate furnace size?
When it comes to estimating the size of your residential furnace heating system, there are a variety of factors to consider. Below we have laid out the steps that you should take to estimate the correct furnace size for your home.
- First you must calculate the correct square footage of your home – add up all the room in your home that you would like to be heated.
- Next you will need to determine what climate zone your home is in for Toronto – as climate is another major factor that helps in determining how many BTUs are required to heat your home.
- Lastly, you will have to multiply the square footage of your home by 40, the lower number recommended for the climate zone – this calculation is likely to give you 76,000 BTUs, which should comfortably keep your home warm in the given climate.
- However these figures are laid on perfect scenarios, and a furnace efficiency is dependent on many factors. We recommend you to speak to one of our expert technicians to suggest you the suitable option after site inspection.
What is the correct size of a furnace for a 1500 Square foot house?
You might be wondering how many British Thermal Units (BTUs) you need to heat your home. The first factor to consider is the square footage of your home. Generally speaking, bigger homes require more BTUs to heat your home efficiently. On average a 1500 square foot home in Toronto requires between 45,000 to 90,000 BTUs to efficiently provide heat throughout every area of your home. However these figures are laid on perfect scenarios, and a furnace efficiency is dependent on many factors. We recommend you to speak to one of our expert technicians to suggest you the optimal size furnace for your Toronto home. By buying the right size furnace for your home, you can ensure that you are comfortable and don’t spend more on heating than is required for the size of your home. Oversized or undersized furnaces, on the other hand, can cause a slew of additional costs and problems for you and your family down the road.
What size furnace do I need for a 2000 square foot home?
To determine the correct size of furnace for a 2000 square foot home, the general rule of thumb is that you need between 30 and 60 BTUs per square foot, depending on the climate zone for your Toronto home. On average a 2000 square foot home required between 65,000 to 125,000 BTUs. Intrinsically, a bigger furnace, such as one with an output of 120,000 BTUs per hour, tends to generate enough heat for larger homes with lots of open space. However these figures are laid on perfect scenarios, and a furnace efficiency is dependent on many factors. We recommend you to speak to one of our expert technicians to size your furnace right for your Toronto home.
How long does a furnace last in Toronto?
While there is no specific answer to this question, there are several factors which can impact the lifespan of your furnace. For instance, quality manufacturing from a reputable brand and installation by licensed professionals. In addition to measures, you can personally take to help extend the life of your furnace, such as, regularly scheduled maintenance and inspections by trained professionals, along with following the recommended times for changing your furnaces air filters. Then lastly, your personal comfort preferences and local climate can also impact the efficiency of your furnace over time, depending on how warm or cold you like to keep your home, how often your system is run throughout the year, and the temperature extremes your furnace is put under. By understanding the many factors that are involved in expanding or decreasing the lifespan of your furnace you can better make critical decisions regarding repairing or replacing your furnace.
We at Tropic Air, understand that each building, whether a home or a commercial property, needs customized heating solutions to meet the needs and budget of its occupants. Give our professionals a call and we will be there for you, making sure your heating solutions needs are met and that your heating is back under control.
For all your heating solutions requirements including Furnace installation or Furnace Repair in the greater Toronto area please call Toronto’s #1 Heating and air conditioning company