Upgrade Furnace Motor Efficiency — And A/C Efficiency — With ECMs

Your home’s furnace will determine the comfort levels in your living space this winter. However, one component of HVAC systems that is often overlooked is furnace motor efficiency. The motor that powers your furnace is going to play a large role in its ability to supply heat in an efficient manner. Selecting the right motor will help you save a ton of money on your utility bills over the long run.

AC induction style motors are the most commonly used motors for powering air conditioning and heating equipment today. However, AC motors always run at full amp draw, which makes them consume a lot more energy than they need to. This decreases furnace motor efficiency, and costs you a lot more money in the end. Luckily, though, there’s another option when choosing a motor to power your furnace: an electrically commutated motor, or ECM.

ECMs were designed to give homeowners more options for operation –namely, to reduce the amount of money that is normally lost through the use a standard AC motor. In fact, by removing your AC motor and replacing it with an efficient ECM, you can see an immediate savings of as much as 20 percent. If you use your system properly, you have the potential to save up to 85 percent on heating costs.

The reason that ECMs are so much more efficient than standard AC motors, is because they are able to run at a number of different speeds. This presents you with flexibility when operating your system, and enables you to reduce the amount of energy that is consumed by the furnace.

If the amount you’re paying on your heating bills is getting too high, and you are searching for ways to increase the furnace motor efficiency of your system, you should consider the advantages of switching to an ECM. For further assistance on ECMs and how they can increase the efficiency of your furnace, contact the professionals at Air-Tro, Inc.today. We have serviced the Pasadena area since 1969 and would be more than happy to help you with all of your home comfort needs.

Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems).  For more information, visit our website.

Air-Tro Inc. services the greater Los Angeles area as well as the metro areas of Riverside and San Bernardino County.

Upgrade image via Shutterstock