An Introduction to Modern Furnaces

Multistage Heat Keeps Homes Consistently Warm

Every year as we head into fall and winter here in Kansas, many homeowners begin to wonder (and perhaps worry) about the state of their furnace. Will it keep us sufficiently warm this winter? Will it break down and need a costly repair?

Replacing an old furnace is a big investment and one that should not be considered rashly. That means you should understand some basics of furnace operation before purchasing the heating system that you will be relying upon for the next couple of decades.

Getting a new heating system isn’t just about replacing an old, non-functioning one. It is about ensuring you have the proper system for your home, which includes such factors as furnace size and taking advantage of the newest advancements in heating efficiency.

Advancements with heating and cooling systems mean that modern heaters have the technology to keep your home closer to the exact temperatures your family needs every second of winter.

If you’re looking for an efficient new furnace with multistep heating functions that keep everything well heated year-round, keep reading to learn helpful information about what precisely modern furnaces have to offer homeowners today.

Why Older Furnaces Can Leave You Too Hot or Too Cold

Waiting for the heat to kick back on is something many of us have learned to live with. That is how the majority of furnaces work. That is because most furnaces have a function called single-stage heating.

Single Stage Heating means the furnace has a single flame that is either on or off. You will hear your furnace cycle on when the heated air starts getting pushed through the ductwork of your home. After the air has circulated sufficiently for your thermostat to register the desired temperature, that single flame will go out.

There is no nuance to how this temperature blows. It will thoroughly blow hot air or none at all. That means that both a warm room and a cold room will receive the same degree of forced hot air from a single-stage system. This can be uncomfortable for those in an already warm room, feeling even more heat coming out through the vents.

New Heating Technology Provides Constant Temperature

HVAC technology has changed over the last few decades to meet homeowners’ needs for more efficient and reliable ways to stay warm during cold winter weather. New heating systems include such features as multistage heating and multispeed fan controls, which ensure your home is always at a comfortable temperature.

Modern furnaces use multistage heating. Multistage heating allows you to get the most out of your heat and make sure it is distributed evenly through every room in your home. This means that you will be warm no matter where you are inside, even if others can’t feel any temperature change.

What are multistage furnaces?

Multistage furnaces use multiple heating elements (also called stages) that simultaneously distribute the temperature throughout the house. That means less time wasted waiting for rooms or areas of floors and furniture around windows to warm up!

Instead of the on-off options of a single stage furnace, multistage systems have steps. It may consist of two steps: low and high. Or a heater could have three steps: low, medium, and high.

Being able to operate at a lower speed, your heating system can be supplying a lower level of heat to maintain your home’s desired temperature. Instead of the heat completely stopping until you feel it start to get cold again, a multistage system will put out a lower level of heated air to maintain an even comfort throughout the day and night.

Saving Energy with A Multistage Furnace

The multistage function is also energy efficient. These modern systems mean less of an impact on our environment because they use much less electricity than older systems. That will result in a lower monthly electricity bill for your household and less of an impact on the environment.

Multistage heating could save you as much as 30% on your utility bill each month!

When the weather is relatively mild, and your furnace does not need to heat your home much, it runs in a lower, energy-efficient way. With lesser demand for heat, a multistage furnace will run perhaps only 60-70% at its full capacity to get your home up to the desired temperature.

A multistage furnace turns on at low-stage first, heating the home slowly. If the temperature does not get high enough after 15 minutes, it will kick into the high stage. At high stage, the heater is working at full capacity to get your home’s temperatures raised sufficiently.

This means your system will use less energy on milder days when it does not need to operate at full capacity.

This low and high heat furnace is a 2 stage unit. But many of the newer furnaces that are coming out are 3-stage options.

Modulating Furnaces: Ultimate Comfort Control & Efficiency

Furnaces that provide modulating stages of heating operate in precise increments. Instead of set stages, it can fluctuate the heat by tiny amounts to optimally reach the desired temperature. These systems are typically running at a lower level of power continuously to provide this constant well-regulated airflow.

With a modulating furnace, you will not feel that blast of hot air coming out of your vent, but instead, you will feel constant light heating just about every minute of the day.

These are the most energy-efficient furnaces, with models performing up to 98% efficiency. That means 98% of all the energy put into the furnace results in putting out heat. These furnaces are typically more expensive because of the incredible efficiency and constant temperature control it provides and are likely to save you a substantial amount on your energy bills.

Multistage Furnaces: Ideal for Kansas

While multistage furnaces provide such incredible flexibility and comfort in heating output, everyone does not need it. This multistage function is ideal for parts of the world that experience more extreme climate changes.

Just looking at last February’s extreme cold snap is all the proof you need to remember how extremely cold it can get here in Kansas. That is what makes these multi-stage heating systems perfect for homes here in the Midwest and to our north. States further south of us would not have as much need for this type of advanced heating technology.

You can learn about the history of home heating trends in Kansas to see how we became a national leader in using gas heat.

Multistage Furnace Installation in Kansas

Furnace installation is an excellent investment for your home. Purchasing a modern, multistage furnace improves your energy efficiency, comfort, and convenience year-round. While there is never a wrong time to replace an aging, energy-hog furnace, read the top 3 reasons why fall is a great time to replace your furnace.

If you are considering a new system, it is time to call an HVAC expert. Hanna Heating & Air has been providing professional furnace installations across the entire Wichita area for three generations.

With locations in Wichita, Andover, and Newton, we can install in homes across southcentral Kansas. Give us a call at (316) 945-3481 or send us a message online, and we will be happy to provide you a free quote for the new heating installation your home needs.