Marshall Home Comfort Warns Residents of Upcoming Regulation Changes

Skippack, PA, February 06, 2013 --(PR.com)-- Marshall Home Comfort, who has been providing quality home comfort services for more than 66 years, worries that the public is not aware of pending changes by the Department of Energy (DOE) that may affect furnace repair expenses and require substantial remodeling fees from homeowners.

Under the new rules, non-weatherized residential furnaces and mobile home gas furnaces installed on or after May 1, 2013, in the Northern Region must be at least 90% Annual Fuel Use Efficiency (AFUE). The North region is comprised of the following states: Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.

In all other states, non-weatherized gas furnace and mobile home furnaces installed on or after May 1, 2013 would be 80% AFUE.

“We worry that many home owners are not aware of this pending change, and if they delay servicing their existing furnace they could end up paying thousands of dollars in required changes to comply with the new 90% requirement,” commented Glenn Dickey, Jr., Home Comfort Consultant and Healthy Air Specialists with Marshall Home Comfort.

Specifics of the new DOE regulations are:
· Any furnace replacement and/or installation after May 1st, 2013 will require a 90%+ AFUE furnace.
· 90%+ furnaces are condensing units, meaning they emit water vapor along with carbon dioxide in the flue gases which will rust the sheet metal piping (the Flue) that 80% furnaces are exhausted with. Due to the corrosion, 90%+ furnaces require a new PVC air intake and exhaust to be installed.
· Depending on the location of the new 90%+ furnace; the PVC air intake and exhaust may be exposed in the interior of buildings and may require remodeling following the installation.
· A chimney liner may also be required at the time of the 90%+ furnace installation for existing atmospheric venting water heaters.

“For homeowners who have furnaces that were installed prior to 2000; now is the time to act,” added Mr. Dickey. “Upgrading your furnace now will enable you to possibly avoid substantial remodeling costs that will be unavoidable come May 1st.”

Homeowners may also be able to take advantage of federal tax credits if they upgrade their furnace to meet specific minimum requirements.

Marshall Home Comfort is based in Skippack, Pennsylvania and has been providing quality service to homeowners and businesses for more than 66 years. A family owned local business, Marshall Home Comfort’s professional staff can install or service all of your home comfort systems including heating, furnace, air conditioning, plumbing, water heater, heating oil, air quality and air filtration.