Heating
Heating installation services in San Antonio, TX

There are a variety of factors to consider when choosing a new furnace, and one factor that almost always comes into play is your local climate. Having the heating running during the winter often leads to the air in a house becoming quite dry. For this issue, some people will tell you electric furnaces are worse since they put out dry heat. You’ll also find plenty of people who claim the opposite and say gas furnaces are worse in a dry climate.

The truth is that either type of furnace can cause the same issues with dry air, which is why you should instead focus on other things when deciding which furnace option is best for your home. Here, we’ll first look at how furnaces contribute to dry indoor air and then discuss the main factors to consider when choosing a new furnace.

How Heating Dries Out the Air in a Home

First, it’s only partially true that furnaces cause the air inside a house to be drier. The only way to actually dry air out is to remove the moisture from it through condensation, which only happens when the air temperature decreases down to its dew point. That means there is really no such thing as a gas or electric furnace putting out “dry air.” The moisture content of the air coming into the furnace and the air coming out of it always remains the same. The reason that the hot air a furnace produces feels drier is that the air’s relative humidity decreases as the air’s temperature increases.

Understanding the Difference Between Absolute and Relative Humidity

There are two different methods used to measure how much moisture air contains: absolute humidity and relative humidity. Absolute humidity is a static measurement that isn’t affected by temperature. The easiest way to understand absolute humidity is as a ratio of water molecules to actual “air” molecules. As long as moisture isn’t added to the air through evaporation or removed through condensation, absolute humidity always stays constant no matter how much the air temperature changes.

Relative humidity refers to how saturated the air is, i.e. the amount of moisture in the air as a percentage of the maximum amount of moisture the air could hold. While absolute humidity remains constant, relative humidity constantly changes as the air temperature increases or decreases. When air is hotter, its molecules are more spread out. That means there is more room for the air to hold additional water molecules. The molecules in cold air are much closer together, leading to the air not being able to hold as much moisture.

When cooler air passes through a furnace and gets heated, its relative humidity decreases since it is now capable of holding more moisture than it was previously. The number of water molecules stays the same, but the air ends up feeling drier as a result of the water molecules being more spread out. This same issue occurs with both gas and electric furnaces since either one results in the relative humidity within the house being lower.

Pros and Cons of Gas Furnaces

One of the main reasons why gas furnaces are the most common heating option in places with cold winters is that they heat extremely quickly and effectively. Even in extremely cold weather, a gas furnace will rarely need to run for more than 20 or so minutes at a time when it’s just keeping the home at the right temperature. The fact that gas furnaces heat more quickly than any other option also means they help to keep a home’s heating costs lower.

Electric furnaces technically make more efficient use of the energy they consume, but they require huge amounts of electricity and don’t heat nearly as effectively. That’s why your heating costs will almost always be quite a bit lower if you have a gas furnace than they would be with an electric furnace. Although electric furnaces cost less upfront, a gas furnace can be more cost effective in the long term as a result of it costing less to run.

Some of the main drawbacks to gas furnaces are the fact that they produce carbon emissions and can potentially be a safety hazard. While it happens somewhat rarely, gas furnaces can potentially catch fire. Another concern is that a gas furnace can sometimes produce carbon monoxide. This can possibly leak out inside the house if there’s a crack in its heat exchanger or an issue with the exhaust flue. There’s also a risk that you could end up with the furnace’s gas line leaking and resulting in a fire or even causing your house to explode.

Pros and Cons of Electric Furnaces

In addition to being cheaper than gas furnaces, electric furnaces also have a few other advantages. One major advantage is that you never have to worry about carbon monoxide exposure since an electric furnace doesn’t burn fuel. Even though a gas furnace costs less to run, you may still save with an electric furnace in a place like San Antonio. This is because it will cost you less upfront and usually not need to run all that much.

Another advantage of electric furnaces is that they have a longer life expectancy. With proper maintenance, a gas furnace should last for 15 or potentially even up to 20 years. If you choose an electric furnace, you could potentially get up to 25 to 30 years of life out of it as long as you keep it properly maintained. Electric furnaces are also less prone to breaking down due to them having fewer components, which means you can save on repairs. If you have an electric furnace that does break down, it will usually cost less to repair as well. Repairing a gas furnace, on the other hand, can be quite costly. This is especially true if you end up having to deal with an issue like a cracked heat exchanger.

Expert Heating and Cooling Services

Air Authority, A Riteway Service Company is a locally owned and operated company that’s been serving San Antonio and all of the surrounding areas for more than 30 years. If you need to install a new furnace, you can trust that we’ll expertly handle the project from start to finish. We’ll also evaluate your home and your heating needs and then advise you on which options are the best. We have a partnership with some of the top brands in the HVAC industry such as Carrier, allowing us to offer top-notch products to fit almost any price point.

If you’re struggling to find a way to pay for your HVAC installation upfront, we offer financing options that are available upon approved credit. As one of the area’s leading HVAC experts, you can also turn to use whenever you need any heating and cooling repairs or maintenance. Also, we can help if you’re looking for ways to boost your indoor air quality. To set up a consultation with one of our home comfort experts and get all of the information you need on your heating installation options, contact us today.

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