Of all the components in a air handler (a/k/a furnace), the blower is one of the most important. As the name implies, the blower does the job of pushing the cooled or heated air into the ducts so that it can flow into all the rooms of your home. Obviously, the blower can use a lot of energy to do that very important work, and it’s reflected in your utility bills. Changing the way the blower operates can help you lower your energy costs.
Variable-Speed vs. Single-Speed Blowers
If you’re thinking about upgrading, and your priority is energy efficiency, you should seriously consider a variable-speed blower motor, instead of a single-speed motor. Why?
•A single-speed blower motor cannot be adjusted. The speed is set when the air handler/furnace is installed in your home. This means that the blower is either on or off, and when it’s on, it runs at the same speed, no matter what.
•A variable-speed blower, however, operates at different speeds. Because the motor won’t be running at full tilt when it’s on, your air handler/furnace will operate more efficiently.
Here are two examples of how a variable-speed blower motor can function in your air handler/furnace:
•Soft Start: The blower kicks on at a lower speed when the thermostat signals the air handler/furnace to go on. It runs at that speed for a designated time. If the house is warmed sufficiently, it will never go on full blast. If the house doesn’t warm up sufficiently, the blower will speed up.
•Continuous operation: An air handler/furnace with a variable-speed blower can be set to run on an ongoing basis, operating continually at a low speed. This is not only more energy efficient, but also important if you have HVAC components such as a whole-house humidifier or a whole-house air filtration system that depends on the blower being on.
Our goal is to help educate our customers about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about Indoor Air Quality and other HVAC topics,click here to visit our website
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