Is My Furnace Big Enough for My Rochester, NY Home?

In the middle of a Rochester, NY winter, your furnace may easily become your favorite appliance in the house. Home should always be a place that is warm and comfortable. If you don’t feel this way about your furnace in the Winter, there are some things to consider. Furnaces are only designed to heat houses of a certain size. If you paying a ton of money running your furnace and it is going all the time and you still aren’t warm and toasty, then perhaps you may consider researching if your furnace is big enough for your house.

Newer Construction, Older Furnace

Things happen to old houses over the years. People redecorate, renovate and change things completely. Another thing that happens is that people expand their home. Utilizing more space and land, people will add bedrooms, bathrooms and more to their home. Oftentimes, people undertake these expansions without thinking of the added workload for their features like the furnace. You may not even be aware of the problem if the house was expanded but the furnace was never updated with the renovations.

Open Concept Means More Space to Heat

One of things that is en vogue with homes and renovations is moving from a traditional floor plan to an open concept. This can involve removing walls and doors and keeping space as open as possible. However, there is another side effect of the open concept: more space to heat. Walls often contain insulation, or, at the very least, they are not given direct access to the heat, for obvious reasons. When you remove these walls, you create more open space for the heat to dissipate into and, thus, a greater workload on your furnace. With a renovation like this, you are adding workload to your furnace without even thinking about it. Thankfully, there is a way to get a definite answer. Many plumbing contractors and hvac specialists will come see you and give you an estimate at little to no charge. They can give you more information on the capacity of your furnace. It is also possible that your furnace needs maintenance to perform at its optimal level. With the help of a professional, you can be sure to stay warm in the winter and not flush a bunch of money down the toilet in wasted energy. A warm home is a happy home!