If you install a furnace that is too large for your home, you will experience a condition called short-cycling. Your furnace constantly cycles on and off, over-heating your home then cooling down below the set temperature. On the other hand, a furnace that is too small for your home will not produce enough heat to keep you comfortable on the coldest days.

over-sized RESIDENTIAL furnace short cycling

PROPERLY SIZED FURNACE WITH SMART THERMOSTAT

A furnace that frequently cycles on and off will require more maintenance and fail sooner than a furnace that is properly sized for your home. The reason has to do with increased wear and tear on the heat exchanger.  By analogy, think of a car with only city miles and no highway miles. City miles involve a lot of starting and stopping, which wears on the engine. The over-sized furnace constantly starts and stops, accumulating wear and tear on its "engine," the heat exchanger. The result is that the over-sized furnace works harder and fails sooner.

IS YOUR FURNACE PROPERLY SIZED? FIND OUT WITH An Appointment

Learn More About Heating

Start by visiting our heating and cooling resource pages for homeowners in Portland or Bend, Oregon. You can also keep reading our latest blog articles about energy efficient home heating.