Furnace Fans

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THE PRODUCT:

Furnace fans circulate air heated by the furnace through a home’s duct system into the living space. For homes with central air conditioning, the furnace fan also serves to circulate air during the cooling season. Furnace fans operate on electricity. The terms “furnace fan” and “furnace air handler” can be used interchangeably. The air handler consists of the fan and motor, housing, controls, and other necessary elements.

POTENTIAL STANDARD:

Furnace fans are not currently regulated at the federal level. DOE elected in 2006 not to include furnace fans in an ongoing furnace standard rulemaking, but to instead consider furnace fans in a separate rulemaking. In EISA, Congress directed that this rulemaking be completed by December 31st, 2013. DOE began the rulemaking process by issuing a Framework Document on June 3, 2010. Several metrics for ranking furnace electricity efficiency have been developed in the past few years including one developed for the California Energy Commission, one developed for gas utility programs in Massachusetts, and one developed by the furnace manufacturers’ trade association (Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association — GAMA) in collaboration with CEE. Some voluntary programs have prescriptively required that furnace fans use high-efficiency motors. The 2012 ASAP/ACEEE report, The Efficiency Boom,  analyzed a standard level based on the use of brushless permanent magnet (BPM) motors, also known as electronically-commutated motors (ECMs). BPM motors are able to achieve high efficiencies at multiple operation speeds. We estimate that a BPM motor can reduce the power consumption of an air handler by about 60% in heating mode and 35% in cooling mode.  We estimate that this standard would save 29 TWh in 2035 alone and generate about $14 billion in net present value savings for consumers.

KEY FACTS:

Furnace fans are among the largest users of electricity in a typical household, consuming over 1,100 kWh of electricity per year on a national average basis, or more than 12% of the average U.S. household’s electricity use. About 500 kWh of this total is consumed during the heating season and the remainder (600 kWh) is used to circulate cooled air in the summertime (ACEEE estimate). More efficient motor technologies, such as switching to energy-efficient BPM motors, can reduce fan electricity consumption by around 60%, making improved furnace air handlers one of the largest potential sources of residential electricity use reduction. Other improvements in the air handler may also improve overall electrical efficiency. High-efficiency fans are commonly available with condensing furnaces, but can also be found on quite a few non-condensing models.

Note: The 2007 Energy bill instructs DOE to set a standards for furnace fans by 2014. Preemption date is listed as 2017 but it may change if DOE sets standards before 2014