Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning provides world class heating repair services in the Madison and surrounding areas. We also specialize in replacement furnaces.
How does my furnace work?
Furnaces heat air and distribute the heated air through the house using ducting or airways. Efficient furnaces contain two heat exchangers, one called a primary and the other the secondary. Your fuel source (natural gas, liquid propane (LP), fuel oil) is ignited in your burner section where the burned fuel first flows through the primary heat exchanger, before flowing through the secondary heat exchanger. Your indoor blower motor blows air across these heat exchangers and delivers that warm air through your into your living spaces.
Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning services most furnace makes and models and ensures your furnace is operating at peak efficiency.
Is my furnace efficient?
A furnace’s efficiency is measured by annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE). AFUE is a measure of how efficient your furnace is in converting the energy in its fuel to heat over the course of a typical year. Specifically, it is the ratio of annual heat output of the furnace or compared to the total annual fossil fuel energy consumed by your furnace. An AFUE rating of 90% means that 90% of the energy in the fuel becomes heat for the home and the other 10% escapes up the chimney and elsewhere.
Furnaces can be retrofitted to increase their efficiency. These upgrades improve the safety and efficiency of otherwise sound, older systems. The costs of retrofits should be carefully weighed against the cost of a new furnace, especially if replacement is likely within a few years. If you choose to replace your heating system, you’ll have the opportunity to install equipment that incorporates the most energy-efficient heating technologies available.
When do I replace my Furnace?
Older furnaces had efficiencies in the range of 56% to 70%, modern conventional heating systems can achieve efficiencies as high as 98.5%, converting nearly all the fuel to useful heat for your home. Energy efficiency upgrades and a new high-efficiency heating system can often cut your fuel bills and your furnace’s pollution output in half. Upgrading your furnace from 56% to 90% efficiency in an average cold-climate house will save 1.5 tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year if you heat with gas.
Before buying a new furnace or modifying your existing unit, first make every effort to improve the energy efficiency of your home, then call Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning to size your furnace. Energy-efficiency improvements will save money on a new furnace, as you can likely purchase a smaller unit. A properly sized furnace will operate most efficiently, and you’ll want to choose a dependable unit and compare the warranties of each furnace you’re considering.
When shopping for high-efficiency furnaces and boilers, look for the ENERGY STAR® label. Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning recommends the very highest efficiency for your new furnace, as the heating season in Madison’s climate warrants the extra initial cost over a less efficient furnace, as the energy savings will be greater over the life of your furnace.
Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning services both hydronic and steam boiler systems.
How Does my Boiler work?
A typical hydronic boiler system will pump hot water from the boiler, through all the radiators or baseboard fintube, where it rejects heat before returning to the boiler to pick up more heat. This is a very simplistic explanation of course, as there is more involved with controls, burners, sensors, etc. Hydronic boilers and associated piping systems contain water that is permanently sealed inside the system, and should be drained periodically as a routine maintenance item. Here’s how it works:
Natural gas enters your home from a pipe in the street. All the heat that will warm up your home is stored, in chemical form, inside the gas.
The boiler burns the gas to make hot flames that pass through the heat exchanger (essentially a copper pipe containing water that bends back and forth several times through the gas jets so it picks up the maximum amount of heat). The heat energy from the gas is transferred to the water.
An electric pump pushes the heated water through the system.
The water flows around a closed loop inside each radiator, entering at one side and leaving at the other. Because each radiator is giving off heat, the water is cooler when it leaves a radiator than it is when it enters. After it’s passed through all the radiators, the water has cooled down significantly and has to return to the boiler to pick up more heat.
A thermostat mounted in one room monitors the temperature and switches the boiler off when it’s hot enough, switching the boiler back on again when the room gets too cold.
Waste gases from the boiler exit the home through a small smokestack called a flue where it disperses in the air. Leading Edge specializes in furnace repair, furnace installation, furnace replacement, and all of your heating and cooling needs.
Peace of Mind
Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning is Better Business Bureau (BBB) Accredited, maintaining an A rating. Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning is Licensed, Insured, EPA Refrigerant Certified, Locally Owned and Operated, and has over 30 years experience providing HVAC services in Madison and surrounding communities.
Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning provides services and replacement furnaces affordably. We accept major credit cards and provide lifetime warranties on our workmanship.
Leading Edge Heating and Air Conditioning provides furnace repair in Madison and surrounding communities. We provide furnace repair, furnace replacements, furnace installation and all furnace service work.