Edmonton winters can be hurtfully apathetic to your personal opinions about low temperatures. It’s not someplace that encourages survival without a proper heating system in your home. It’s a simple choice. Either you adapt to the freezing temperatures that Edmonton serves, or you get heating. In our opinion, option two is preferable.
But for most Canadians, selecting a heating system presents a dilemma in itself.
Whether it should be an electric furnace? Or a gas furnace?
This is where we offer a little help. This blog is a laydown of everything that you need to know about an electric and gas furnace. Understanding how a furnace operates, and how the two variations differ, can help you, as a business, to better inform your customers about the nuances of this choice. After all, it’s not just safety from the harsh winters, but also from any economic inconveniences the customers might face because of a bad decision.
Working Principle
The principle of operation for a furnace remains the same for all variations – forced convection heating. According to the temperature specified, the furnace heats up cool air and it is distributed throughout the house by a blower.
In the gas furnace, this trigger is alerted when the temperature of the room falls below the parameters set on the thermostat, and the pilot light is ignited. The heat exchanger in the furnace collects the air heated up by the ignited pilot light and distributes it along the entire house to match the thermostat parameters.
In an electric furnace, this triggered ignition and the method of heating air is electric.
In either of the furnace, the hot air is distributed by a blower throughout the house. The cooler air is sucked in due to intake vent which returns back to the furnace to heat up. When the sensors of the thermostat detect that the required temperature is achieved, then the furnaces shut off their heating element.
Cost
Cost is the primary consideration which stops a lot of owners in Edmonton to step back and review the decision. When pitting electric furnaces against their gas counterparts, electric furnaces are far less costly to purchase and install, thus making them a good choice for tight budgets. However, electricity is more costly than natural gas in the long run. And even though gas furnaces may be a larger initial capital, they come out to be more economic in the long run.
Comfort
Comfort comes next on the list. When comparing the furnaces’ abilities to heat up houses, gas furnaces do it faster, better, and with far less effort involved. Gas is also independent of the weather conditions outside, and thus suits Edmonton’s frigid winter conditions better.
Installation
When dealing with types of equipment like furnaces, it is fundamental that safety is paramount. Thus, it is recommended that installation is handled by a professional team. The installation of a new gas furnace along with the vents and the pipeline can take a day or two. Electric furnaces require dealing with high voltages and heavy wiring and are best left to a professional as well.
Lifespan
The average electric furnace can last up to two decades before they start experiencing drops in efficiency and an increase in repairs. Gas furnaces last a decade. You can squeeze more life out of them by pursuing routine professional maintenance, but their lifespan, in general, is a decade.
What’s the Best Pick for Your Customer’s Winter in Edmonton?
The choice gets more complex the more you know about these two heating systems. It depends a lot on the size of your customer’s home, their carbon footprint preferences, the budget, and the kind of durability and effectiveness they are expecting from their unit.
While electric furnaces cost less to purchase, they cost more to operate, but last longer. You would want to suggest pairing it up with a generator in order to keep it running through a power outage. Gas, while being inexpensive, requires regular repairs, but heats more effectively. Over the last few years, the cost of electricity has increased, while natural gas charges have come down, making gas units more appealing. This counteracts the low cost of an electric furnace.
Maintenance of an electrical unit is not as tedious and doesn’t require much effort. They’re also less of a risk to inhabitants as gas furnaces emit a low level of carbon monoxide that needs to be kept in check. An electric furnace is more quiet and durable than its gas counterpart. With a larger lifespan and easier installation, the initial capital in an electric furnace is lower. Gas furnaces require regular and thorough cleaning, which should be undertaken by professionals such as Acclaimed! Heating, Cooling & Furnace Cleaning.
All this influences the choice of the ideal furnace for your customer’s winter requirements. In the end, it comes down to individual preferences and resource availability – but there’s a perfect furnace for everyone.
