AFUE and Real-World Boiler Efficiency: Save up to 40% on You Energy Bills

You’ve probably seen the yellow stickers on your boiler, but may not understand what the numbers on those stickers mean.

The sticker numbers denote your boiler’s AFUE, or Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating. Think of AFUE like the MPG rating of your car – it measures the amount of heat delivered to your house compared to the amount of fuel the boiler uses to produce it (a boiler with an AFUE rating of 80 converts 80 percent of the fuel it receives to supply heat – the other 20 percent is lost out of the chimney).

The problem is that boiler efficiency is about much more than AFUE. To understand boiler efficiency in the “real-world,” you need to consider other factors.

Real-world boiler efficiency

A homeowner could spend as much as $800 more on fuel for his boiler than another homeowner with a boiler of nearly identical AFUE rating. Why? Because AFUE only measures energy lost to the chimney and doesn’t take into account such factors as:

• Jacket loss – Poor insulated boilers allow heat to escape constantly.
• Idle loss – Conventional boilers often run day and night to keep hot water available – even when no one is using it.
• Loss from draft regulators – Draft regulators draw in outside air through windows and doors, increasing the amount of fuel needed to heat the air.
• Heating load mismatch – If your boiler is too large or too small for the heating load of your home, it will overwork and run less efficiently than its spec suggests.
• Inadequate maintenance – Any home comfort system will lose 5-10 percent or more of its performance every year without proper maintenance.

System 2000 – A different kind of boiler

Black Bear features a unique boiler solution for your home – the Energy Kinetics System 2000®, which combines heat and hot water to maximize efficiency in all seasons.

The unique design of the System 2000 significantly reduces or eliminates chimney, jacket, idle, and draft regulator loss, cutting your bills by hundreds of dollars every year. Plus, the System 2000 heats water up six times faster than most water heaters – which means no more cold showers!

A System 2000 boiler – sized, installed, and maintained by your Black Bear technician – is an investment in your home comfort that will pay for your family for years to come.

Contact Black Bear today for a FREE estimate on a System 2000 for your home!