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How to Calculate Furnace Size for a House

How to Calculate Furnace Size for a House

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Buying a new furnace is a major decision these days since there is so much choice on the market, including different brands, models and variants, technical capabilities, furnace types, and efficiency ratings. But one of the most essential factors to consider before purchasing a new furnace is the size that is ideal for your home.

Installing a correctly sized furnace is more than just estimating the square footage of your home. When sizing a furnace, there are several factors you need to consider. Now, we’ll review what those aspects are, why it’s essential to properly size a furnace, and how you can buy a furnace that’s the perfect size for your location, environment, and comfort goals.

The goal of this article is to guide you in choosing the required size of furnace for your heating needs. It is calculated by taking the required heating BTU per square foot for most homes and your climate zone. Our heating BTU calculator takes these critical things into consideration, allowing you to give an answer for common questions as “how many BTUs to heat a home?” or “What size furnace do I need?”

The BTU per square foot heating rule of thumb varies greatly depending on your climate and the area of your house or room you wish to heat up.

Why choosing the best Furnace Size Is So Important?

Although it may be tempting to choose a smaller furnace to save money on the purchase price or a larger furnace to boost space-heating, but with furnaces just as with so many things in our lives we should follow the rule of Golden mean: you need one that is just perfect, for your home.

A furnace which is far too powerful will cycle irregularly. This is problematic because it will generate hot and cold zones around the home, decrease efficiency, require additional maintenance, and shorten the furnace’s lifespan.

A furnace which is undersized will operate continuously and won’t be able to maintain a comfortable temperature in your home. The additional workload will also increase your energy costs, cause maintenance issues, and shorten the life of your furnace.

Another drawback of having a furnace that is the incorrect size is that it will reduce your heating system’s overall efficiency.
The AFUE (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency) is the thermal efficiency measurement of a furnace based on normal operation. The AFUE tries to represent the equipment’s actual, season-long average efficiency, taking into account all operating factors.

You won’t be able to get the efficiency rating you paid for if your furnace runs continuously or irregularly because it is the wrong size. That means more energy use and higher heating expenses.

Your furnace must be correctly sized for your home in order to perform at the efficiency level it is rated for.

How many BTU do I need for my house?

That is a crucial question that must be answered correctly. On the coldest winter days, a furnace that is way too undersized will not heat your home properly. Areas further away from the furnace may become uncomfortably cold in your home.

An oversized furnace will waste large amounts of energy, and create hot patches around vents close to the furnace before the heating cycle stops.

When you talk about furnace size, you are not talking about the actual physical dimensions of the unit. Rather, the size of a furnace is determined by its heating output and the amount of heat it can provide.

The output of a furnace is often measured in British thermal units (BTU) per hour. A BTU is a unit of measurement for energy, particularly the amount of energy necessary to raise the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. Heat is now understood to be the same as energy. The joule (J) is the current SI unit for heat and energy; one BTU equals about 1055 J.

Furnace BTU

You need to remember, that “BTU/h” is sometimes abbreviated to just “BTU”. The modern unit of power for heating and cooling systems is the watt. 1000 BTU/h is approximately 293.1 W.

Some manufacturers have started to calculate furnace size in MBHs rather than BTUs. One MBH is 1000 BTU per hour, then you’re still using the same unit: 60 MBH is equal to 60000 BTU.

The general BTU per square foot heating rule of thumb varies from 30 BTU per square foot to 60 BTU per square foot based on your climate zone. That is a significant variation, with one furnace being twice as powerful as the other, so the size factors are explained here to help you in how to size a new furnace for a house.

A bigger furnace, such as one with an output of 120000 BTU per hour, will provide enough heat for a larger space. A smaller furnace will have a smaller BTU capacity, such as 40000 BTU per hour, and would be suitable for only a smaller pace.

Calculating BTU requirements for a house

Let’s start with this very useful map. The climate becomes progressively colder from zone 1 to 3.

Find your location on the map. If you’re on or close the border between two zones, choose the higher number, the cooler zone.

Canada climate zones

Take the square footage of your home. If you don’t know it, you can look up the blueprint of the house, or measure rectangles within your home. Multiply the width by length for each rectangle and add them together.

It is not quite accurate, but nevertheless very useful for our purposes. While you shouldn’t use this calculation to make a final decision about furnace size, you can use it to get an idea of the size range to look at when you buy a new furnace. You can get a basic estimate using the square footage of your house.

The general rule of thumb is that you need between 30 and 60 BTU per square foot. Depending on your climate zone, you can determine how many BTU per square foot you need.

Furnace BTU sizing chart

Square footageFurnace BTU for
Zone 1		Furnace BTU for
Zone 2		Furnace BTU for
Zone 3
100030000 BTU45000 BTU60000 BTU
125037500 BTU56250 BTU75000 BTU
150045000 BTU67500 BTU90000 BTU
200060000 BTU90000 BTU120000 BTU
250075000 BTU112500 BTU150000 BTU
300090000 BTU135000 BTU180000 BTU

Let’s say you live in the Greater Toronto Area (Zone 2), in a home which is 2000 square feet. The chart would tell that you need approximately a 90000 BTU furnace.

These are only examples with approximated values to show how these factors would affect the furnace size you need to buy, how many BTUs needed to heat a house.

Professional furnace sizing

The best way to ensure your furnace is the right size for your home is to get an evaluation from a professional HVAC expert at Furnace Pro.

Furnace Pro Inc. has been proudly providing professional Furnace Installation services to accurately calculate the square footage of your home, factor in all the other elements that can impact furnace size, and give you a precise BTU capacity for your furnace.

furnace in toronto

Upgrading & Maintaining Your Furnace in Toronto

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Winter is officially over, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need your furnace during springtime. It’s our goal to ensure that every furnace in Toronto is working properly all winter and spring long, so when those last few cold snaps of the year hit you and your family will be ready and warm.

Call Novel Care if you answer YES to any of the following questions: 647-547-6094

  • Is your heating system more than 15 years old?
  • Are you making frequent repairs to your heating system?
  • Do you experience hot and cold spots in certain rooms within your home?
  • Are you paying more than you used to on your energy bills?

If you answered yes to any of these questions then you definitely have a problem with your heating system. Novel Care is dedicated to fixing every furnace in Toronto and the GTA and can help you and your family in your time of need. By replacing an old furnace or heating system you will be increasing the reliability of your system when big winter storms hit, improving the efficiency of your system so you save money, and ensuring the comfort of your home and the safety of your family. On old heating system or furnace in Toronto won’t have the reliability or energy-saving features that are available in today’s units. As a result, they take much more energy to cycle on and keep your home warm.

Newer furnace in Toronto should be Energy Star® certified so you save money and do your part to help the environment. These units also do a much better job at heating your home and will pay for itself in only a few years as your energy bills will be that much lower.

Upgrading your system can drastically improve the comfort of your home. They can be easily programmed to serve specific areas of your home at different times of the day to ensure you’re only heating areas that are in use. You can program them to heat your home for certain temperatures when you are sleeping and when you wake up to optimize the temperature of your bedroom so you get the best sleep possible.

A new furnace in Toronto could also include safety features like built-in carbon monoxide (CO) detectors. Carbon monoxide is a dangerous gas that has no smell and if consumed can be deadly.

Indoor air quality is another aspect of home safety. Indoor air quality can be up to 100 times worse than the air outside of your home. A new furnace in Toronto that has UV lights, a humidifier, a proper ventilation system, and air filtration technology can drastically improve the air you and your loved ones breathe in on a daily basis.

For more information about installing or repairing a new furnace in Toronto, York Region or anywhere else in the GTA contact Novel Care today: 647-547-6094. Novel Care has over 35 years of experience installing and repairing every model of a furnace in Toronto and the rest of the GTA.

Extend The Life Of Your Furnace

Extend The Life Of Your Furnace

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It’s no secret that living in Toronto and the GTA isn’t cheap. So it makes sense that you’d want to get the most out of your home’s heating and cooling. We’ve found a few simple things you might want to know about to extend the life of your furnace.

Annual Maintenance Can Extend The Life Of Your Furnace
This one is kind of obvious. After all, you wouldn’t drive a car without ever taking it in for an oil change. The same goes for your furnace. With annual maintenance, you can get peace of mind knowing a professional is taking a look at your home’s heating. This gives them the chance to diagnose any issues or make recommendations about potential repairs that may be needed. Helping you make informed decisions about what to do next – rather than be surprised and in a panic.

General Maintenance Helps Extend The Life Of Your Furnace Too
Don’t forget that you can always do the minimum yourself when it comes to taking care of your furnace. Start by keeping vents clear and open as well as replacing air filters every few months. These help your HVAC run efficiently and prevent it from working too hard for too long. Plus, they’re easy to do.

Extend The Life Of Your Furnace With Complementary Heating
So you have your furnace serviced every year or two but still want to help it last longer? Maybe it’s time to consider letting your home’s HVAC run at a lower temperature and make up the difference with a ductless unit instead. These are great for spot heating and cooling, allowing your furnace to not work so hard on those cold nights. Having a ductless unit in a cooler area of your home can help raise the temperature without wasting energy heating the entire home. Ask your HVAC professional if this could be the solution for you.

Furnace Pro Can Help Extend The Life Of Your Furnace
For a team that’s dedicated to HVAC, call 416-921-0000. We’ve been serving Toronto and the GTA for more than 30 years, so we’ve seen, diagnosed, and repaired it all. You can trust our team to work with you for the best results. After all, we want you to feel comfortable with your decisions, so feel free to ask questions along the way. Together, we’ll find the right solution for your home.

efficient furnace

Tips to Ensure You Have an Efficient Furnace

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You might not realize it, but your furnace might not be as efficient as you think. There are numerous things that can affect whether you have an efficient furnace or not and understanding them is essential to how much running your furnace costs you.

An efficient furnace is important to your monthly bottom line, and if saving money is important to you you’ll want to read this.

An Efficient Furnace Starts With…

  • Keeping furniture, curtains and other things away from the vents in your home. If the air can’t properly circulate in your home, your furnace will have to work overtime to warm the rooms in your house.
  • Duct cleaning is essential to allowing the warm air from your furnace to flow freely around your home. If ducts are dirty or have debris in them then airflow is inhibited and your furnace has to work harder to spread the warmth.
  • Clean or replace your air filter. If the air filter in your furnace is dirty then the airflow is restricted and your furnace has to work harder than normal to push air through the filter and then through your home.
  • Annual maintenance is one of the best ways to ensure you have an efficient furnace. An experienced and knowledgable furnace repair and furnace maintenance technician will evaluate your furnace and perform a tune-up to ensure that it’s running as efficiently and reliably as possible. This appointment will also ensure that you avoid as many repairs as possible by addressing any concerns early on before they lead to major repairs and in turn expensive repair costs.

Overall, the HVAC industry has taken steps to improve environmental sustainability. Green HVAC technology is more efficient, will save you money, will last longer and will reduce your carbon footprint compared to older HVAC systems and furnaces in particular.

If you’re not sure how efficient your furnace is, reach out to us at Furnace Pro Inc to find out and discover more high-efficient options: 647-547-6094

Quality Furnace Options

Quality Furnace Options: Know Before You Install

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While it’s always nice to find a good deal on anything, you should be careful about being too stingy. After all, most quality furnace options are within the same price range, so saving a few bucks shouldn’t be your only focus.

The key word here is quality. Just like you wouldn’t buy a TV from a guy selling them out of his apartment (at least we hope not), you’ll want to go with a brand that is tried and true. There are affordable versions, lesser efficient models, and other half-measures you can take, but having the right heating system in your home can pay off in more ways than you might think.

Lennox & York Are 2 Very Good Quality Furnace Options

As mentioned above, the right heating has many benefits. It can help you save money each month by taking in less energy, heat your home quickly, and have the full backing of an established brand.

Lennox and York are two great options to consider when choosing a new furnace. Both have been around for years and are well-known in the world of HVAC. In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a professional technician who couldn’t perform maintenance or repairs on these models.

Each of these quality furnace options has built a reputation for producing quality heating and cooling for people around the globe. They have countless years of experience behind them and are always looking for new ways to deliver a product they can be proud of, which is why Novel Care proudly installs both.

Book Quality Furnace Options With Furnace Pro Inc

For more than 30 years, our team has been installing, maintaining and repairing Lennox and York furnaces in Toronto and the GTA. We do this because each of these brands has done a fantastic job of building quality products that not only last, but are also energy efficient, backed by warranty, and keep our customers happy.

Give us a call at 647-547-6094 to get started with a member of our team. We’ll gladly work with you to establish a consultation to further assess your home’s needs and make recommendations that make sense for you. After all, we’ve been serving this city for more than 35 years ourselves, so we know the value in putting our customers first. Call today and let’s work together to help narrow down your quality furnace options.

Toronto heating options

Toronto Heating Options: Boiler Or Furnace?

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When it comes to deciding how to heat your home in a city this big, there are really only 2 main Toronto heating options. Here, we’ll take a closer look at furnaces and boilers to help you know a bit more before investing in the future of your home’s heating.

A Closer Look At Toronto Heating Options For Your Home

Let’s start with the more widely known option of furnaces. A furnace is a great Toronto heating option for a home with existing ductwork. You see, in order for a furnace to operate, it needs to pull in air, heat it up and then distribute that warm air throughout a home via ductwork or vents. Without them already in place, selecting a furnace to heat your home may prove to be quite a bit more expensive than you’d hoped. However, with ductwork in place, furnaces have proven to be a reliable source of heat – often lasting as long as 20+ years if properly maintained.

The other common Toronto heating option would be a boiler. Boilers are usually found in basements of homes and tend to take up quite a bit of room. These systems operate by pulling in water, heating it up to the desired temperature and distributing it to radiators throughout the home. While this is more compatible in just about any home, common issues like kettling, lime scale build-up and the overall amount of space a boiler can take up remind people that these are usually well suited for homes rather than the growing condo population in Toronto and the GTA.

So which one best suits your needs? To be honest, that all comes down to the size of your living space, the type of existing system currently in place, as well as how much maintenance you’d like to perform yourself. Truth is, your best bet is to be honest with yourself and make a list of pros and cons before deciding on one of these Toronto heating options. Just make sure you let a professional handle the installation.

Call Furnace Pro Inc For Help With Toronto Heating Options

For more than 35 years, our team has been available to help homeowners with the installation, maintenance and repair of their heating systems. We’re not about to stop now. Call 647-547-6094 to get started or to learn more about your options based on your needs. Trust us, after 30 years of serving Toronto and the GTA, we know a thing or two about taking care of our customers.

heating maintenance

Is Home Heating Maintenance Really Worth It?

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In Toronto and the GTA, it’s no secret that things can get expensive. That’s especially true of homeowners. From insurance and property tax to repairs and upgrades around the home, even the best of homes can sometimes feel like a money pit, so you may ask is heating maintenance realyl worth iy?

As a way to save a few bucks, it’s important to analyze your expenses and sometimes that means cutting non-essential services – but heating maintenance shouldn’t be on that list.  

Heating Maintenance Is An Essential Expense That Pays Off

If you’ve ever wondered if heating maintenance is necessary, think of it in terms of owning a vehicle. Even if you take good care of it, there will always be issues that can be repaired or diagnosed by a trained professional. Best of all, you can avoid the unwanted sting to your wallet of experiencing sudden malfunctions and breakdowns.

Being Green

One of the growing concerns with more and more people is protecting the environment. Well, heating maintenance can actually help with this problem. You see, a well maintained furnace, boiler or heat pump, can prevent that appliance from working harder than it needs to. The less stress on the heating system, the less energy it requires. That reduces your home’s personal carbon footprint!

Saving Green

On the topic of using less energy or gas, heating maintenance can actually contribute to cheaper energy bills each month. Plus, you’ll be protecting your investment by taking care of it and having it serviced once every year or two. That helps you get the most out of your home’s heating system so you can avoid having to find a replacement system before its time.

Most importantly, heating maintenance helps give you peace of mind as a homeowner. Not only can it help the planet, and control your costs, but it can also just plain keep you safe. An undiagnosed issue with your home’s heating could lead to potential fires if debris builds up in air filters or even a risk of CO2 leaking into your home if there is a larger issue. The truth is, it’s just hard to tell what issues could pop up if a system goes unchecked for years at a time. That’s why the recommended timeframe to book maintenance is at least every 2 years.  

For Reliable Heating Maintenance, Call Furnace Pro Inc You should never let an untrained person perform maintenance on any important system in your home. So be sure to call our team at 647-547-6094. At Furnace Pro Inc, we’ve been diagnosing and helping Toronto and the GTA with their heating maintenance needs for more than 30 years now. Call today.

Life Expectancy Of A Furnace

What’s The Life Expectancy Of A Furnace?

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Investing in a home is a big step for anyone, especially if you live in Toronto and the GTA. With this city listed among the top 10 most expensive to live in, you’ll want to make sure you get the most from your home’s appliances. Here’s what you need to know about your furnace, including it’s life expectancy, the importance of maintenance, and a few tips to help you get the most out of it.  

Furnace 101 

Every homeowner can expect their furnace to last a minimum of 10-15 years before a new model will need to be installed. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t last longer. In fact, some homeowners have reported their heating system to run for as many as 30 years – which is the absolute maximum number of years.

Increasing The Life Expectancy Of Your Furnace

Furnaces don’t come cheap, so here are a few ways to help your heating system last a bit longer. First off, you’ll want to make sure you schedule regular maintenance (every 1-2 years). While you might be able to search and follow a YouTube video to do this yourself, we recommend leaving this task to the professionals. In our experience, being a novice and attempting to effectively maintain an important – and expensive – heating system like a furnace doesn’t work out well. There is a risk of being hurt as well as doing further damage.

Tips You CAN Do Yourself To Increase The Life Expectancy Of Your Furnace

Making sure all vents are clear and air filters are being changed regularly can help prevent stress on your furnace. Having good airflow is important, which is why using ceiling fans is another useful tip. Ceiling fans help circulate air in a home, allowing your furnace to work less in the winter to heat rooms that might be further away from the unit itself. A few final tips include baking and cooking more often – your stove and oven produce excess heat – , checking for air leaks from doors and windows, and being sure to close the curtains at night all play a positive role in reducing strain on your furnace. These small things all work together with your furnace to help your home stay toasty warm even on the coldest of days. 

Maintenance From Furnace Pro Inc Helps The Life Expectancy Of Your Furnace

Save yourself the stress of having to replace your furnace before its time by giving us a call at 647-547-6094 for some maintenance.  Rest assured, after more than 35 years of serving Toronto and the GTA, our technicians have seen and repaired it all, so we are ready and waiting to help. Call today and let’s add a few more years to the life expectancy of your furnace.

furnace installation in toronto

Furnace Installation In Toronto And The GTA

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Finding the right person for any job usually starts with knowing what to look for. Just like with a vehicle, anyone can handle an oil change, but you want to make sure you look around when it comes to steering or brake repair. Same goes for furnace installation. While some professionals claim they can handle the task at hand, you really don’t want to gamble with your home’s heating system.   

Tips For Finding The Right Person For Your Furnace Installation In Toronto

When trying to determine the difference between professional installers, there are 3 areas to consider: experience, area served, and online reviews.

Years of experience with furnace installation in Toronto

There really isn’t a substitute for experience when it comes to furnace installation. After all, if the person you hire has been doing this for years, or represents a company that has a successful track record, chances are you won’t be experiencing any issues. On the other hand, someone new to the field of HVAC or who is a general handyman, might not know how to troubleshoot any issues. Worst case scenario, they make a mess of the job and now you’re paying extra to get a real pro to try and fix everything. 

Parts of Toronto and the GTA served

Another big indicator that you’re dealing with a professional over an amateur is learning how big of a service area they provide. One guy with a truck in Toronto won’t be willing to help if you’re in Brampton, but a larger service might. The bigger the organization, the more resources they have at their disposal to serve customers better. Some even have 24/7 support if you need it.   

Online reviews tell the story

The final indicator of a good furnace installation expert is their online reviews. If they have the experience then you should see plenty of feedback online. Naturally you don’t have to read every word people have written, but skimming through them will give you a better idea of what you’re getting into. Independent furnace installers may be able to fake a couple reviews from their friends, but only those with years of experience will have plenty of real testimonials for your perusal.

For Professional Furnace Installation In Toronto, Call Furnace Pro Inc

Not everyone is looking to do the homework it takes to always find the right person for the right price. But if you’re reading this, chances are you won’t want to gamble with your furnace installation. So if you’re looking for a company with more than 30 years of experience serving Toronto and the GTA, Furnace Pro Inc is ready and waiting. Just call 647-547-6094 today. We’re even available 24/7 in case you ever need us for an emergency repair. Put our team of experienced professionals to work for you, and set your mind at ease.