{"id":2761,"date":"2023-02-20T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-02-20T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/?p=2761"},"modified":"2025-10-31T11:36:51","modified_gmt":"2025-10-31T15:36:51","slug":"debunking-common-furnace-myths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/debunking-common-furnace-myths\/","title":{"rendered":"Debunking Common Furnace Myths"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-medium\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/furnace-with-man-working-on-it.jpeg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/furnace-with-man-working-on-it-300x200.jpeg\" alt=\"Technician using a screwdriver to perform furnace repair service in a basement.\n\" class=\"wp-image-2762\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/furnace-with-man-working-on-it-300x200.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/furnace-with-man-working-on-it-768x512.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/furnace-with-man-working-on-it.jpeg 800w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>The furnace has been the most common type of home heating system for many decades. As with anything that\u2019s been around that long, a number of myths have gathered around the furnace that many people still believe. Although the internet allows for rapid debunking of many of these misconceptions, it also allows for the misconceptions to continue to spread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the most common myths about furnace repair services?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Repairing an old furnace is always cheaper than replacing it<\/li><li>A high-efficiency furnace guarantees lower energy bills<\/li><li>Electric furnaces are always more cost-effective than gas models<\/li><li>A larger furnace will heat your home better<\/li><li>If the furnace is running, it doesn\u2019t need maintenance<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>We want you to know the truth about your furnace so you can get the most out of it and enjoy safe comfort every year. You can trust our team for professional <a href=\"\/service-areas\/clovis-heating-air-conditioning\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">furnace service in Clovis, CA<\/a> or elsewhere in the Central Valley whenever you need it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Myth 1: Restoring old furnaces can save money<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Restoration of many old appliances and devices can give them a new lease on life while helping to save money off buying a new one. A furnace, however, isn\u2019t a candidate for restoration. Restoring a furnace won\u2019t bring it up to the current standards for energy efficiency of new furnaces. It\u2019s not a good use of your money to restore a furnace for a few more years of middling performance. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/replacing-furnace-great-features-modern-gas-furnaces\/\">Upgrading to a modern gas furnace model<\/a> also comes with a new warranty, something you won\u2019t get with an older furnace, no matter how well restored it is. Installing a new furnace also comes with a new warranty, something you won\u2019t get with an older furnace, no matter how well restored it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Myth 2: High-efficiency furnaces guarantee energy efficiency<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s easy to believe this one. Why wouldn\u2019t changing from an 85% AFUE furnace to a 92% AFUE furnace result in a reduction on annual heating costs? This <em>should<\/em> be the case, but the truth is that proper installation and selection of a furnace is necessary for it to perform to its energy efficiency standards. If you end up with the wrong size furnace that\u2019s been put in with inferior installation, it will waste money no matter how high it\u2019s AFUE rating. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/should-you-replace-your-furnace-before-the-serious-cold-arrives\/\">Replacing your furnace before cold weather hits<\/a> can help ensure a more accurate match and professional installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Myth 3: Electric furnaces can save money because they have 100% AFUE<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The reason that electric furnaces have 100% AFUE is because, unlike gas furnaces, they do not lose any heat energy to exhaust. This is just naturally the way electric furnaces operate, and the 100% AFUE is a given. An electric furnace can cost more to run than a gas furnace if the price of electricity in the area is higher than that of natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Myth #4: A bigger furnace is better<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another easily understandable mistake: it seems to make sense that when looking for a furnace, it\u2019s better to err on the side of one that\u2019s too large rather than one that\u2019s too small. But an oversized furnace <em>is<\/em> a major problem. It will start to short-cycle, meaning it turns on and off rapidly, never fully completing a heating cycle. This not only means the furnace won\u2019t stay on long enough to properly heat the house, it will waste money from turning on so often and cause its parts to wear down rapidly. You want a furnace that\u2019s the exact sweet spot between too large and too small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Myth #5: Furnaces don\u2019t need maintenance if they\u2019re working fine<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The purpose of furnace maintenance is to see that a furnace that\u2019s working fine <em>continues<\/em> to work fine. If your furnace is struggling, you need to call for repairs, not maintenance. Maintenance is a job that\u2019s necessary annually to ensure that your furnace won\u2019t lose energy efficiency, won\u2019t malfunction due to wear and tear, and will last for as many years as possible.\u00a0Ignoring these needs can lead to problems such as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/failed-furnace-control-board\/\">malfunctioning furnace control board failure<\/a> and costly emergency repairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><a href=\"\/contact\/contact\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>Reach out to Purl\u2019s Sheet Metal &amp; Air Conditioning for all your furnace needs.<\/strong><\/a><strong> Uncompromised Quality &amp; Customer Service Since 1952.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We want you to know the truth about your furnace so you can get the most out of it and enjoy safe comfort every year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[76],"tags":[261,222,50],"vertical":[],"segment":[],"service":[],"class_list":["post-2761","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-heating-service","tag-clovis","tag-furnace","tag-heating-system-repair"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2761"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3194,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2761\/revisions\/3194"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"vertical","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/vertical?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"segment","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/segment?post=2761"},{"taxonomy":"service","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.purlsheetmetal.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/service?post=2761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}