AFUE rating stands for ‘Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency’. This is a key energy-efficiency rating for furnaces, and it’s most commonly used when evaluating the energy efficiency of gas furnaces.
In the most basic sense, the AFUE rating tells us what percentage of fuel (natural gas, propane, oil) is converted into heat.
Here are two examples that illustrate this:
- Gas furnace has 80 AFUE: That means that 80% of energy in the fuel is converted into heat.
- Gas furnace has 94 AFUE: That means that 94% of energy in the fuel is converted into heat.
Example: If you put $100 worth of gas in an 80 AFUE furnace, it will be able to produce $80 worth of heating output. Compared to that, AFUE 94 furnace will produce $94 worth of heating output with that same $100 gas. Basically, you are saving $14 per every $100 worth of gas if you choose 94 over 80 AFUE furnace. If you check AFUE 80 vs 96 furnace calculation, you are saving even more; $16 per every $100 worth of gas.
In the 1950s, the AFUE rating of an average gas furnace was 50. With the advances in technology – condensing units, primarily – the modern gas furnaces can have an AFUE rating over 90. You can read more about these high-efficiency gas furnaces here.
The energy efficiency is average on an annual scale; hence we get an annual fuel utilization efficiency. This is because the efficiency can vary a bit throughout the heating season.
We’ll look at how the AFUE rating is calculated based on the gas and oil energy capacity. We’ll also look at how the new 94 AFUE rating gas furnaces are more efficient than 20-year-old 80 AFUE rating ones.
Quick example: 94 AFUE furnace will burn $1,000 amount of natural gas while 80 AFUE furnace will have to burn $1,175 worth of gas for the same heating effect.
How Is AFUE Rating Calculated?
To calculate the annual fuel utilization efficiency, we need to know how much energy natural gas and oil contain. Here are the numbers:
- 1 cubic meter of natural gas contains 36,000,000 J of energy.
- 1 barrel of oil contains 6,120,000,000 J of energy.
A furnace that utilized natural gas should, at 100% efficiency, produce 36,000,000 J of energy. However, the utilization of natural gas is not 100%.
Here is how the AFUE rating is calculated:
AFUE Rating = Output Energy / Input Energy (based on 100% efficiency)
In the 1950s, an average 50 AFUE rating gas furnace would extract only 50% or 18,000,000 J of energy from every cubic meter of natural gas.
In the 2020s, the modern 94 AFUE rating condenser gas furnace can extract 94% of energy or 33,840,000 J of energy.
Here is an example of this calculation:
Output Energy = AFUE Rating * Input Energy
In the case of 94 AFUE furnace using 1 cubic meter of natural gas, this is:
Output Energy = 0,94 * 36,000,000 J = 33,840,000 J
In effect, the gas furnaces have become so advanced that they can extract up to 15,840,000 J of energy more from every 1 cubic meter of natural gas.
80 vs 94 AFUE Rating Furnaces Compared
Today, most people either have:
- 20-year-old gas furnaces with 80 AFUE rating, and are looking to buy a new one.
- First-time owners who are choosing between cheaper older 80 AFUEÂ vs expensive modern 94 AFUE furnaces.
It makes sense to calculate how good 80 AFUE vs 94 AFUE furnaces are. The price difference between the units can be up to $1,000. Does the higher AFUE rating justify the additional cost? The following section is a bit calculation-heavy.
An average household will need about 100 million BTUs (British Thermal Units) per heating season. That equates to 105,500 billion J (Joules).
Now let’s look at the price of natural gas. According to the EIA, the average residential price of 1,000 cubic feet of natural gas in February 2020 was $9,12. That is 28,32 cubic meters. Here is the summary:
- 80 AFUE rating furnace produces 792,960,000 J burning $9,12 of fuel.
- 94 AFUE rating furnace produces 958,348,800 J burning $9,12 of fuel.
For an average home and an average heating season, here are the total 1-year costs of running a gas furnace:
- 80 AFUE furnace will burn through $1,213.37 worth of natural gas.
- 94 AFUE furnace will burn through $1,003.98 worth of natural gas.
That means that, all things equal and using average heating needs, 94 AFUE furnace will save $210.61 per year compared to 80 AFUE furnace.
In 20 years (average furnace lifespan), you’re looking to save more than $4,000 just on natural gas.
Essentially, paying $1,000 more for a high-efficiency 94 AFUE rating is genuinely a smart investment for your home.
This article did not address longevity (or lack thereof) of the high efficiency vs lower efficiency furnaces. From my research, it seems high efficiency furnaces are more complex, more susceptible to breakdown, and generally don’t last as long as the simpler lower efficiency furnaces.
This should be accounted for in the calculations — especially since most high-efficiency furnaces seem to come with rather short warranties. It would seem that somebody purchasing a high-efficiency furnace will need to budget at least one significant repair that will not be covered under warranty. While the lower efficiency furnaces are likely to go their entire lifespan without requiring any major repair.
Hello Frank, that’s a very interesting insight. We are not really aware that there is a significant difference in how long do high AFUE vs low AFUE furnaces last. If this is the case, we would also need to quantify it; an incredibly difficult task. But you’re right; the total price does depend on repairs, longevity as well.
My existing 75,000 BTU, single stage, natural gas furnace at 90 AFUE is only marginally sufficient for my size home. Therefore, based on my analysis, upsizing to an 80,000 BTU, 2-stage, natural gas furnace at 96% AFUE would provide increased comfort with additional monthly cost savings; if my analysis is correct. Are there other factors to consider I might be missing?
Larry
Hello Larry, that’s the correct analysis. Of course, the upfront cost will be high, but, you will get about 7% higher heating output and about the same monthly bill (7% higher heating output but 6% extra efficiency).