Learn about what AFUE ratings are, how they affect you, and what else to look out for when buying a furnace! At Advantage, We Got You.

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Timestamps:
00:00 - AFUE Furnace Ratings | What Does It Mean?
00:20 - What Is A Good AFUE Rating?
00:41 - How Does AFUE Affect You?
01:31 - What To Look For When Furnace Shopping


AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency.
Why is AFUE Important?
The AFUE rating of a furnace is a way of calculating how much fuel gets turned into heat for your home. If a furnace has a higher AFUE, then more of its fuel becomes heat that enters your home.
Keep in mind, AFUE just measures the efficiency of the heating unit itself. Heat can still escape through chimneys, unsealed or uninsulated ducts, or out open doors. This escaped heat will not factor into the AFUE rating.
 
How is AFUE Calculated?
Whether your furnace uses oil or gas, we can calculate the AFUE the same way.
(Amount of Heat Produced in BTUs/Amount of Fuel Used in BTUs) x 100
This results in a percentage of how much fuel gets turned into usable heat.
So, if a furnace is 98% effective, then 98% of the fuel it uses turns into heat which enters your home. 2% of the fuel gets turned into wasted or lost energy that either burns off early or leaks out before entering your home.
 
What is a Good AFUE?
The Department of Energy started creating standards for efficiency in 1975. The DOE set the current standard in 2015. Today, the minimum AFUE you will see on the market is 80%. Anything below that is low-efficiency and out of date.
Furnace’s with AFUE between 90% and 93% are in the mid-efficiency range. This is what you will find in most homes in America in 2022.
A high-efficiency furnace has an AFUE between 94% and 98.5%. 98.5% is the highest AFUE available in 2022. If you want to have the most energy efficient furnace possible, then this is the range you will want to shop in.
 
How Does AFUE Affect You?
A furnace’s AFUE isn’t just an arbitrary measurement. It can impact your life in several ways. These are:
- Energy Cost
- Furnace Lifetime
- Environmental Impact
- Fuel Cost
 
What Else to Look For When Furnace Shopping?
AFUE is not the only statistic that can affect a furnaces efficiency or performance. There are a few other factors that you should consider. These are:
- Fuel Type
- Variable Speed Furnace
- Warranty
- Fuel Type
If you are not using an all-electric furnace, your furnace will need a fuel source. This is natural gas or oil. Natural gas furnaces are more efficient than oil furnaces mostly and each gets supplied with fuel through different methods.

Variable Speed
Furnaces that have a variable speed run more efficiently than a standard furnace. A typical furnace has two settings: on or off. If a furnace has a variable speed setting, it can change the rate at which it blows heat on a sliding scale. It works like a dimmer switch for a light. If you only need a little heat, it only blows a reduced amount of heat.

Warranty and Protection
Having a strong warranty can impact the cost of owning your furnace over the long term. Furnaces can last up to 20 years, and you want a warranty that can keep your furnace running for its full lifetime. Regular maintenance can reduce the chance of equipment failure, but the chance of breakdown is never 0%. Having a warranty that can cover parts or labor for a long period can reduce or negate the cost of any future repairs.
 
Who Are Advantage Heating and Air Conditioning?
We are your local HVAC Experts out of Salem, Oregon. We hope that this video gave you the information you need to know about AFUE. If you have other questions about HVAC systems, check out our other videos. To learn more about who we are and how we can help you, visit our website and follow us on social media - we’re here when you need us!