A furnace is a heating appliance that distributes heat throughout a home by means of air. They achieve this by burning fuel, in this case, coal, which heats the air surrounding the firebox. That heated air is forced from the furnace by a blower and distributed using a duct system. Producing a comfortable indoor temperature much quicker than other types of systems.
Furnaces have many advantages. One furnace advantage is the ability to provide comfortable warmth quickly. A thermostat and a couple of furnace controls provide automatic and well-regulated warmth and a quick response when the seasons change. Here are some furnace advantages you can consider!
Low-cost Fuel
Coal furnaces have low-cost fuel as it uses anthracite rice, nut, or stove coal which are readily available, affordable, and easily stored. This will help you save on fuel bills! These furnaces can last an average of 15 to 20 years which allows you to offset the initial costs easily. A house with 1,200-3,500sqft will use 1-4 tons of coal per year. Coal is usually around $230 per ton. Now you can see why coal is the cheaper way to heat your home!
It’s also much simpler to store coal at home and that’s not the case with stacks of wood. Coal takes less area to store than wood. Additionally, Rain, snow, or fluctuating temperatures can not rot or degrade your coal. But with wood, you will need a good woodshed, with sufficient ventilation to maintain its proper moisture levels.
Air Filtration
Filtering systems are built into our furnaces. Indoor air quality affects your health as it can cause irritation to your throat and lungs and affect the comfort of your home. Furnaces use air filters and have to be replaced periodically to keep the air clean in your homes. Filters in our furnaces need to be replaced every 2-3 months.
Safe
Furnaces are also safe especially when they are well maintained, it can be one of the safest ways to heat your home. Furnaces have a less number of fire incidents than heating stoves. Furnaces have built-in safety switches that prevent fires from erupting and toxic fumes to enter homes. Coal, unlike wood, does not produce any creosote, which is very flammable.
Easy Maintenance
It is easy to change air filters. Check periodically and keep the furnace openings and flue clean and clear from any obstruction. Again, since burning hard coal produces no creosote the annual cleaning is a lot easier and quicker.
Add-on to Existing System
Coal furnaces can easily be added to an existing system. Simply tie the furnace into the supply and return ducts of your current system. You will need to have a chimney dedicated to the furnace and may use an existing vacant one.
Heat your Drinking Water
Not only can you save money by heating your space with coal, but imagine being able to save money by heating your shower, drinking, and other domestic water with coal! This is done a little bit differently than with a coal boiler. For a Coal Furnace, you will need a special “U” shaped pipe (called a coil) that will go through the firebox wall directly over the flames and then back through the firebox wall. These coils are made of stainless steel and will amply supply all the hot water you may need.
Hands-Free
Hand-fired furnaces are the most common and are not hands-free. They require to be tended to about twice every day. You have to shake the ash, adjust the air knob, and feed the fire more fuel. On the other hand, we have our automatic stoker coal furnace. Our Stokers have a 250lb hopper which is enough to last up to 5 days. Stokers automatically feed the fire coal from the hopper and dump the ash. They even monitor your house’s temperature and then make the fire larger or smaller to match the demand.
Oil Backup
We took our furnaces a step further and created an optional oil backup system. This is available in both our hand-fired and stoker models! Now, whenever you don’t feel like starting a fire you can just flip a switch.
Combining the oil burner with the coal furnace allows you to save thousands on installation costs. You will only need one chimney. You will not need to purchase an oil furnace on top of a coal furnace. Lastly, your installer will be hooking up one unit to your system instead of two!