When you live in Georgia, you probably don’t give your heating services much thought. That is, unless something goes wrong with your furnace, or you suspect that you may be paying more than actually necessary for your heating services due to an inefficient furnace.
Efficiency is the name of the game when it comes to your furnace, and efficiency is exactly why many of our customers choose a gas-powered furnace over an electric-powered furnace. The former uses a more affordable fuel type, and that means that folks end up paying less over the lifetime of their system for its operation.
Before you assume that natural gas is the only thing your gas-powered furnace needs though, we’re here to let you in on a little secret… yes, your gas furnace does use electricity! Read on to learn how.
Electricity Powers the Igniter
Electricity is required in order to operate the igniter of your gas furnace. This component is tasked with lighting the flame, and it only fires for a brief time. This is the clicking noise that you usually can hear if you’re near your furnace as it starts up.
The amount of electrical power this draws from your electrical system is minimal. Older gas furnace models have a glow-type igniter, and these do use more energy than newer systems. However, these aren’t as common as they used to be. If you are still using a furnace with this type of igniter, you’ll likely see much greater savings by upgrading to a more efficient heater–furnaces today are far more efficient than those of even a decade ago.
Electricity Powers the Fan Motor
The blower fan of your furnace is responsible for bringing the heated air over the heat exchangers, through your ductwork, and into your home through your vents. The blower fan’s motor does require electricity in order to operate.
That said, there are what’s called variable speed fans in newer furnace models, and these are more efficient than the single-speed motors of the past. This is because they can operate at various levels of output, depending on your needs. On a relatively mild winter day, for instance, you may not need the motor to run at its full capacity to heat your home, and therefore you’ll be using your furnace more efficiently overall.
Variable-speed fan motors can actually lower output by 50%, and even a standard fan motor only uses about 400 watts per hour of your electrical energy.
Additional Questions from Our Customers
- Will a Gas Furnace work without Electricity?
The short answer to this is, “no.” While your gas furnace uses the burning of natural gas to actually create the heat that warms your living space, if that furnace doesn’t have any electrical power, it will not run.
- How much Electricity does a Gas Furnace Use?
Not a lot! It will depend on the make and model, but most use less than 600 watts of electricity–not enough to see a drastic difference in your electric energy bills.
Please reach out to our team if you have any additional questions!
For expert furnace service in Cartersville, GA, look no further than Dayco Systems. Contact us today!
