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What’s Better, a Furnace or a Boiler?

Most people don’t even know they have that option: furnace vs. boiler. In fact, the majority of our customers along with home owners across the country believe their home is heated by a furnace, period.

So before we tackle the “what’s better” question, let’s set the record straight on makes a furnace a furnace, and a boiler a boiler. In simplest terms, a furnace heats air, and a boiler heats water. A furnace, also known as forced air heating, sends the air through your ductwork and into heated spaces to provide the desired level of comfort. A boiler, also known as a hydronic (water based) heating system, uses oil, gas, or electricity to heat water. Then the heat is then transferred to baseboard heating units or radiators.

Here’s another difference between a furnace and a boiler. While any home can support a boiler, not every home can be heated by a furnace since they all don’t have ductwork; in fact, in many cases, it would be cost prohibitive if not not darn near impossible to add ductwork in some older homes.

Now that we have all that straightened out, let’s assume that your home is constructed in such a way that you do have a choice, boiler or furnace. Which makes the most sense for you?

Well, without knowing your particular circumstance, we’re going to give a qualified nod of preference to boilers, even though the upfront cost of installation can be considerably higher. Still, if you’re planning to be in your home for the long term, you can more than recover your upfront investment in energy savings alone while realizing several other tempting features and benefits, especially these:

• Greater heating efficiency. Since boilers aren’t heating and blowing air you’re your living spaces, there’s less chance for drafts, and that’s where the greater heating efficiency stems from.

• Lower cost of maintenance and repairs. Furnaces have to be cleaned at least once a year to maintain their operating efficiency, and their filters need to be cleaned or replaced far more frequently than that. Boilers, being a more efficient design in the first place, help keep ongoing maintenance and repair costs to a minimum.

• Quieter operation. While many of today’s furnaces come with variable speed blowers to reduce noise levels, they still can’t match the whisper quiet operation of a boiler, especially a high efficiency condensing boiler.
• Reduced carbon footprint. With reduced energy consumption and waste comes a reduced carbon footprint, and that benefits everyone.

Is that an absolute, take-it-to-the-bank endorsement for boilers over furnaces for every family we serve? Absolutely not. Still, isn’t it nice to know that you have at least one more option than you may have previously considered? If you’re even thinking about replacing your current heating system for a new and more energy efficient model, contact Messmer Mechanical today for a free and no-obligation explanation of your options, along with a recommendation for the one heating system we believe – when all factors are considered – that best meets your family’s needs and budget. And that’s as rock solid of a promise as they come.