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Choosing a new air conditioning or furnace system can be difficult. Before making a purchase, consider the energy efficiencies and operating characteristics of the systems currently on the market.

Variable-speed gas furnaces

Variable-speed gas furnaces are extremely efficient because they do not cycle on and off as normal gas furnaces or heat pumps do. Every time a normal gas furnace starts, it uses energy to heat the duct work and the furnace itself. A variable-speed gas furnace does not repeatedly start and stop because it continually adjusts the speed at which heat is dispersed. While most furnaces and heat pumps maintain a room temperature that is within three or four degrees of the desired temperature, a variable-speed gas furnace reduces the margin to one degree. Additionally, because these furnaces eliminate the noise and unsteady airflow associated with repeated starts and stops, they are less noticeable to occupants. Finally, because the blower on a variable-speed gas furnace continuously circulates the air through the filter, the air inside the home is cleaner.

Electric heat pumps

Electric heat pumps combine air conditioning and heating in a single highly efficient unit. While conventional systems, such as furnaces, create heat by burning fuel or electricity, heat pumps move, or "pump," heat. In the summer, a heat pump acts just like a central air conditioner; it collects heat on the inside of the home and pumps it to the outside. During the winter, the reverse occurs. The heat pump collects heat on the outside and pumps it to the inside. Because a heat pump moves rather than creates heat, it can move three to four times more heat than the energy it consumes. During especially cold winter days, when an electric heat pump cannot sufficiently heat the house, an auxiliary electric resistance heater can make up the difference .

Dual fuel heat pumps

Dual fuel heat pumps are identical to electric heat pumps, but instead of using electric resistance heaters, they burn gas to generate auxiliary heat When it is very cold outside and there is not much heat to pump, a gas furnace is more cost effective than an electric resistance heater.

Efficiency ratings

Gas furnaces. Gas furnace efficiency, or AFUE, indicates the percent of fuel burned that is converted into heat for the home. A higher AFUE rating indicates higher efficiency and lower gas bills. Modern gas furnaces are usually rated between 80% and 97% AFUE. In comparison, AFUE ratings for many old furnaces fall between 50% and 60%. Replacing an old 50% AFUE furnace with a new 80% AFUE furnace reduces fuel consumption by more than a third.

Heat pumps and air conditioners. The SEER rating is the primary efficiency rating of both heat pumps and air conditioners. A higher SEER rating indicates higher efficiency and lower power bills. The U.S. Department of Energy is enforcing a minimum SEER rating of 13 on any new residential systems manufactured as of January 2006. As a comparison, a 15-year-old air conditioning unit would likely have a SEER rating around six. Replacing a 15-year-old unit with a modern 13-SEER-rating unit would cut cooling costs by more than half.

Many homeowners find that new, highly efficient systems pay for themselves in a short period of time through lower power and gas bills and lower maintenance costs.