There are a lot of different things to consider when shopping for a new furnace. What’s the AFUE rating? Electric or gas? Will it be able to physically fit in the open space? One thing that often gets neglected, though, is the overall size of the furnace. Many homeowners make sure that the furnace can actually fit, but ignore what the ideal size of the system should be. That makes it possible for all sorts of problems to crop up in the future. Read on to find out more about why furnace size is such a big issue.
Furnace Is Too Large
If a furnace is too large for your home, it’s going to be putting out far more output than it should be. Shortly after the furnace activates, it will reach the target temperature and the thermostat will shut it down. Or, even worse, the limit switch will think that the system is overheating and shut it down as an emergency measure before it can heat the home. This kind of sudden start/stop cycles can put an immense amount of wear and tear on the system. Eventually, various parts of the furnace will start breaking down. An oversized furnace will have a much shorter lifespan, on average, than a properly sized one due to this increased wear and tear.
Furnace Is Too Small
A furnace that is too small will not be able to generate enough heat to keep the home properly warmed. So, it will stay on for far longer than it was designed to do in an attempt to meet the target temperature. The added stress from working so long will have the same effect as if the furnace were oversized; eventually the system will break down and need to be replaced.
