18 - Friday, October 21, 1988 - North Shore News NO MATTER how you look at it, heating the typical Ca- nadian home through the winter is an expensive pro- position. While homeowners have no con- trol over the cost of the fuel, they can ensure that it is put to good use by maintaining an efficient heating system. Furnace efficiency is measured in two ways: seasonal efficiency and steady-state efficiency. Seasonal efficiency measures the performance of a furnace over the entire heating season, taking into account equipment start-ups and shutdowns, when furnaces are generally least efficient. Seasonal efficiencies can only be calculated under extremely controlled condi- tions, and are not available for most furnaces in Canada. That means most homeowners must rely on steady-state efficiency -fatings to determine just how well their furnace is doing its job. This rating measures only the percent- age of available heat delivered by HOMEBUILDING “steady-state efficiency tests. the furnace during its peak operating stages (after it has warmed up and before it begins to cool down). Steady-state efficiency ratings are almost higher than seasonai ratings for the same furnace. In other words, the actual perfor- mance over the entire heating season will never be as good as in- dicated by a steady-state efficiency test. Most furnace technicians are equipped and trained to conduct Effi- ciency ratings for oil furnaces can fluctuate widely from year to year, so it’s a good idea to test your furnace’s efficiency once a year during your routine maintenance check. If you own a natural gas fur- mace, you may decide to have it tested less often since efficiencies will not vary significantly from year to year (you should still have the furnace serviced before each heating season to ensure that it’s operating safely and efficiently). After your furnace has been Seminars slated THE GREATER Vancouver Home Builders’ Association (GVHBA) is sponsoring a series of all day homebuilding seminars. Conducted by Al Koehli, one of Canada’s leading authorities on home construction and new home technology, the seminars address a variety of topics to do with home . construction. Included in the list of topics are: selecting the construction system, types of insulation, how to build a. draft-free fireplace, why and how to ventilate, selecting the best heating system, cost-effective win- dow choices, and new products and new technology. The What’s New in Homebuilding Seminar will be held Saturday, October 22 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. at the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, 15463-104th Avenue, Surrey, B.C. The cost of the seminar, which includes manuals and lunch, is $40 per person or $60 per couple. For more information contact the GVHBA Office, 584-5515. Village . Carpets & Interiors @ Installation and my, wales of quailty Q ing, blinds, paper, a ceramic the, and drapery 836 West 15th Street North Vancovuer, BC. (off Fell Ave.) 88-7573 988-7574 § Operating for about 10 or 15 minutes, your technician will per- form two tests to determine its Steady-state efficiency. The first test measures carbon dioxide con- centrations in the flue gases, while the second measures the temperature of gases in the flue. The results of these tests will enable the technicians to rate the efficiency of your furnace com- pared with other similar units. (The table at the end of this article will enable you to relate the carbon dioxide concentration and the flue gas temperature to the steady-state efficiency of your furnace.) Discuss the findings and ask the technician for advice on remedying any problems. If the efficiency rat- ing is low, the technician should make the necessary adjustments and follow this up with another ef- ficiency test. Older oil furnaces should have a Steady-state efficiency of 70 to 80 per cent. Newer conventional units have ratings of about 85 per cent. Condensing oil furnaces can of- fer steady-state efficiencies of up to 95 per cent. Natural gas furnaces must attain a steady-state efficiency rating of 75 per cent to be certified by the Canadian Gas Association. 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