Best Furnace Repair Brampton, Award-Winning Furnace Installation & Heating Services!

There are primarily four reasons why you may have to replace your old furnace:

1. The current furnace has broken down, and you have had it for over 10 years. If the repairs are not justifiable, replacing the furnace is the best way forward.

2. The furnace was ‘Red-Tagged’ by a licensed gas fitter technician.

A ‘Type A’ Red Tag means the furnace is unsafe. The technician will shut gas to the furnace off. If you find yourself in this situation, the first thing you must do is get a second opinion. There have been many cases of gas technicians using scare tactics to make homeowners replace HVAC units that still have many good years left. If the Red Tag is legit, you should determine if replacing will be better than repairing. Engaging a technician at this point will help make the most informed choice.

In some cases, the Red Tag comes at the worst possible time. When winter is lingering, it is easy to rush the process and buy the first furnace that comes your way. This is the worst way to go. An experienced furnace installer can help you find the best furnace for you within the shortest time.

3. The Furnace is too Old.

A furnace typically has a lifetime of between 15 and 25 years. At Air Makers, we highly recommend that you replace a furnace that is more than 20 years old. This is because a new furnace will be more efficient and save you a lot of money. A new furnace will also not break down as often, thus saving you money.

4. Your furnace operating and repair costs are way too high.

If your operating and repair costs have been skyrocketing, now is the time for you to replace your furnace.

When the furnace is not working efficiently and the cold months are approaching, it is easy to take shortcuts and buy the first furnace that is recommended to you. If you ever feel rushed to get a new furnace, never take shortcuts in your search practices. It is better to engage the help of a professional such as Air Makers to help find the furnace that will be perfect for you.

Now that you understand the benefits of replacing an old furnace with gas fuel, the next thing you need to do is find the perfect furnace size. The right size should neither be too big nor too small.

Before you start shopping for a furnace, you have to think about the energy output needed to heat your home. For more details on this, read this guide on furnace and A/C sizing. The information on the page will help you pick the right furnace size. It looks at the factors you should consider.

Most of the homes in Canada have an oversized furnace. It is good to have the right size furnace for your needs instead of getting an under-or over-sized furnace. To find out more, take a look at this sizing guide to know how big the ideal furnace should be based on your home’s square footage and size.

The prices of natural gas have been going down gradually since 2006. In April of 2006, the price stood at 35c per cubic meter. By July 2012, the price was 9c per cubic meter. You can take a look at the historical natural gas rates here. The prices are still going down. You can also check the current price of natural gas here.

Natural gas is becoming the go-to furnace fuel thanks to the low operational cost incentives. More and more residents in Brampton are replacing their non-natural gas furnaces with those that use natural gas. Gas distribution companies also work hard to connect every home in Brampton with natural gas and a gas meter. Daily, we get so many calls from homeowners who want to replace their old furnaces with those that use natural gas.

Needless to say, if you are in Brampton, there is no better time to get a natural gas connection than now. In addition to getting the fantastic incentives which include free installation and gift cards or even cash incentives, switching to a natural gas furnace will bring your utility bills significantly down.

While a gas furnace has low operating costs, you need to bear in mind that it uses electricity to operate components like the blower motor. With that in mind, you have to consider the hydro costs that will be incurred from running the blower motor. Make sure an energy-efficient blower motor has been installed.

To find the right furnace, you need to understand the amount of heat out that will be required to heat your home. You then need to review furnace models and find the one that fits your budget. Even so, it is good to note that matching a furnace to your budget doesn’t only need to be about the initial purchase price alone. You have to think of a furnace purchase as an investment. Consider the value the furnace will help you earn back while running it. To get a clearer understanding of this, let’s take a look at an illustration.

There are two furnaces. One costs $2,000 and another $2,400. With the $2,400 furnace, you will save up to $150 each year. With this in mind, you will make up the $400 price difference (which you would have saved buying the $2,000 furnace) within 2.7 years. You will then continue enjoying a saving of $150 each year after that. This makes the $2,400 furnace a better investment than the $2,000 one. However, if with the $2,400 you only stood to save $50 each year, it will take you up to 10 years to make up the price difference. In this case, the $2,000 would have been a great choice. The idea is, any furnace that enables you to pay back the difference within 5 years is a great investment.

While it is hard to put a price on comfort, there are a couple of things you can consider to find the best furnace for your home needs. The key factors that will affect the operational cost of a high-efficiency gas furnace include the following:

• AFUE rating
• Type of inducer motor
• Type of blower motor
• Eligible rebates

You will also need to do a cost analysis to help you understand the economic aspect of your select furnace. The idea is to ensure the decision made is based on an economic perspective.

Your choice of furnace has to be made based on the features and functionalities you need in a furnace. This will include:

• Number of heating stages
• ECM inducer motor
• ECM blower motor

Before you buy and install a high-efficiency furnace, it is good to consider these two important things:

• Available rebates on the selected furnace
• Availability of labour and parts warranty on the model

Are you in Brampton? If yes, you can view the pricing on Goodman furnaces here. Both Carrier and Lennox brands limit us from sharing pricing online. Get in touch with us for a free, no-obligation in-home estimate.

Although furnaces require electricity to run the inducer and blower motors, our focus on AFUE will be on the fuel source used to produce heat. The fuel, in this case, is natural gas.

AFUE is an abbreviation for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. It is a scale of measuring the fuel consumption efficiency of a furnace and runs from zero to 100 percent. In the past, a furnace was considered a high-efficiency one when it had an AFUE of 90%. This went up to 92%, and it today stands at 94%.

In most cases, the AFUE is not given on a furnace. You can, however, calculate this rating since the AFUE is the Output heating power/ Input heating power. The output and input values will be found on a sticker on your furnace. However, if you have had your furnace for 2 to 3 decades, you can be certain that its AFUE will be 70% or even lower. The AFUE is also affected by the furnace quality as well as how you maintain it. The AFUE will decline over time as your furnace ages. For example, if your furnace that is 25 years old had an AFUE of 70%, that AFUE may now stand at 60%.

To even get a better understanding of AFUE, let’s look at it in terms of money. If your furnace has an AFUE rating of 70%, it means that for a dollar you spend on heating, 70 cents will go to heating, whereas 30 cents will be wasted. Replacing your old furnace with a high-efficiency furnace such as Infinity Carrier Model 59MN7A, which has an AFUE rating of 98.5%, will save you a lot of money. This is because, for a dollar spent, only 1.5 cents will be wasted.

With that in mind, switching from a furnace that has an AFUE of 60% to one that has an AFUE of 98.5% will give you significant savings on utility bills. The higher the AFUE rating is, the better.

The majority of homes in Brampton use single-stage furnaces. This is the most common furnace in homes. But did you know many benefits come with using a multi-stage furnace? If you are thinking of installing a new furnace, you need to consider getting a multi-stage or even a true modulating furnace. Keep reading to find out why.

Furnaces that have a multi-stage operation are equipped with a gas valve. The work of the valve is to regulate the amount of gas that flows to the burner and heat exchanger. This is different from a single-stage furnace, where gas flows at 100% when the furnace is switched on.

A 2-stage operation furnace is equipped with a furnace. When switched on, the furnace starts heating at a lower heating stage. In most cases, this stage is usually 60% of gas flow. If the desired temperatures are not achieved within 10 to 16 minutes, the regulator will open to 100% to allow more gas to flow. This concept is the same in 3-stage operation furnaces. The only difference is that the valve has three settings: 40%, 60%, and 100%. When switched on, the gas flow starts at 40% and keeps increasing to 100% if the desired temperatures are not achieved within 10 to 16 minutes. A 3-stage furnace is, however, not a true modulating furnace.

With true modulating furnaces, the settings are more than 40 or even 50. The valve has smaller opening increments, typically from 30% all the way to 100%. A perfect example of a true modulating furnace is the Carrier’s INFINITY 98. The furnace is also the only one you will find that can modulate down.

To give you a better understanding of all three furnace options, we have to discuss an example. Let’s say you have a single-stage furnace and the temperature in the room is 20C. If you want to increase the temperature to just 21C, you will need to adjust the thermostat, and the furnace will switch on. The valve in the single-stage furnace will open at 100% to increase the temperatures by 1C. Because heat is produced at a high rate, the room will start getting hot, and by the time the furnace is switching off, the thermostat will be reading 23C. The temperatures will then begin dropping until they hit 21C. When they fall below 21C, the furnace will kick in again, and the cycle will continue.

The main issue with this type of operation is the significant temperature fluctuations due to the lack of control. You have definitely noticed this issue if you have been using a single-stage furnace.

The issue can be corrected with a multi-stage furnace which increases the temperatures gradually. Multi-stage furnaces allow you to increase the temperatures at a gradual rate. This is because the more heating stages your furnace has, the better control it will give you.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at the two main benefits of using a multi-stage furnace:

• Better temperature control: The temperatures increase gradually, thus eliminating the issue of temperature fluctuations.
• The furnace is quieter than a single-stage furnace: This is all because the furnace doesn’t run at full capacity when only a few degrees of temperature need to be increased. A lower gas flow rate has always been associated with a lower sound because high gas flow leads to increased pressure, leading to more vibrations that cause more noise.

Ask us about the innovative technology used in the Carrier multi-stage furnace. This technology is known as adaptive logic and guarantees tighter temperature control.

Misconception About the Number of Heating Stages and Energy Saving

Having more heating stages does not mean that a furnace uses less gas to heat the room. Heating stages don’t affect the efficiency of a furnace either. The same amount of energy will be required to heat the house. The only difference is that a single-stage furnace burns more gas within a shorter period than a multi-stage one. This means that the furnace will use the same amount of natural gas at the end of the day to achieve the desired temperatures.

Getting a warranty cover will give you peace of mind knowing you are using a high-quality product, and if it breaks down prematurely, you will not be forced to foot the bill for repair or replacement. Some manufacturers offer extended warranty options. Keep in mind that the norm is usually a 10-year manufacturer parts warranty. An HVAC company will offer a labour warranty. Ensure it is mentioned in the contract. In most cases, there is no factory labour warranty on equipment, thus the reason you should ask for a labour warranty. Reasonable labour warranties last 1 to 2 years.

While extended warranties are great, you have to remember that it is unrealistic to get a labour warranty of 5 to 10 years without measures in place for proper furnace maintenance. If you get a labour warranty of 5 to 10 years without any obligations when it comes to maintenance, you have to think twice before accepting. Reading the fine prints will help you understand the conditions that apply when using the labour warranty.

It is also a great idea to know where the warranty is coming from. Is it coming from the installing company or the manufacturer? Manufacturer warranties are the most credible. It is good to keep in mind that a labour warranty from a manufacturer will attract an extra fee which has to be paid before the HVAC is installed.

The Heat Exchangers warranty must also be considered. In most cases, you will get a lifetime warranty on the factory parts, both for primary and secondary heat exchangers.

Because we stand behind the products we supply and the services we offer, at Air Makers Inc., we provide basic warranty packages that include the following:

• 10-year parts warranty from manufacturers.
• Lifetime manufacturers parts warranty on primary and secondary Heat Exchangers.
• 10-year labour warranty from Air Makers Inc. For labour warranties that are more than 2 years, we require you to pay a chargeable annual maintenance and checkup fee which is charged from the third year. The fee is usually $80.

Furnace blower can be placed in three categories:

• PSC Blower – Single Speed

These are motors that use the AC city electricity in AC form. These are considered to be basic blowers, and they use the same frequency. However, when they are compared with blowers from 20 years ago, the PSC blowers are about 30% more efficient. On the other hand, when compared to modern-day motors, the PSC blowers are louder and don’t do much to maximize comfort.

• ECM X13 – Multi-Speed Motors

ECM stands for Electronically Commutated Motors. With the ECMs, AC electricity is first converted to DC power. The advantage of using DC power is that it has a lower and more efficient power consumption than AC power. Using DC power also offers the advantage of varying motor speeds. While you don’t get true-variable speed, the ECM X13 motors offer up to 4 motor speed settings. The motor is also two times more energy-efficient than the PSC single-speed blower. It is also quieter and works at lower heating and speed stages.

• ECM – True Variable Speed

The ECM motor offers more operating speeds and is considered to be 4 times more energy-efficient than ECM X13 motors. You can increase the speeds in tiny increments. This is the motor found in the Carrier’s INFINITY furnace models.

Operational Cost Comparison Between the Above Blower Motors

We have to consider an illustration to get a better understanding. You have an old blower motor that operates 24/7 for an entire year. With this motor, you incur a cost of $600 in hydro bills. The price will go down to $400 if you start using a furnace with a single-speed blower. When you install an ECM X13, the costs will go down to $200. A true variable ECM motor that uses DC power will take the hydro costs to about $40.

You will also be able to find ECM inducer motors. These are referred to as ventor motors. They are what push burnt flue gas out of the furnace. ECM inducer motors run quieter and are more energy-efficient.

You can learn more about the Carrier’s COMFORTHEAT Technology and the ECM motors used in Carrier Furnace. You will also understand how they can improve hot and cold spots and deliver a quiet operation.

The Ontario Power Authority rebate is the main rebate program. It is offered if you work with contractors who are a member of the HRAI. The rebate is $250 if you replace an old furnace with a high-efficiency one with an ECM motor. Starting December 15th, the manufacturer warranties are all void.

Yes. Fire furnaces are taken through rigorous testing to ensure they don’t have any flaw that may be hazardous. Most of the fire furnaces in the market are also designed to shut themselves down if there is no flame that is burning the gas off. However, as a precaution, you are advised to have a fire extinguisher on-site and also have the contacts of a reputable HVAC company like Air makers for times of emergency.

At Air Makers, we have built a reputation as the most affordable and trusted service provider in Brampton regarding furnace installation and repair. Our reputation is untainted in installing, maintaining, and repairing furnaces in residential and commercial settings.

We are happy to be the winner of numerous back-to-back awards from leading furnace manufacturers. We are also the number one HVAC contractor in Brampton in terms of the number of HVAC equipment installed since 2013.

A fire furnace needs to be cleaned at least once a year. To start with the cleaning, turn the furnace off and wait for it to cool down. Brush and vacuum the dust from logs. There are special furnace glass cleaners you can buy at the stores. A wet piece of cloth can be used to wipe the insides.