What’s the advantage of a two-pipe furnace installation?
There are many advantages to choosing a two-pipe furnace installation, but the most significant benefits concern indoor air quality, efficiency, quiet operation and enhanced furnace life.
INDOOR AIR QUALITY
Two-pipe furnaces bring in all the combustion air from the outside, so there is plenty of available fresh air to meet the combustion needs of the furnace. If the furnace must draw its air from what’s available inside the house (traditional one pipe installation), it must fight for adequate combustion air from other appliances that are exhausting air from the home, such as bathroom and kitchen vent fans, clothes dryers, and gas water heaters.
When more air is being exhausted from the home than is being replenished, a negative pressure can occur in the home increasing infiltration. This is of particular concern in newer homes that have very tight construction. Infiltration brings in unconditioned air through cracks and gaps in your home’s structure bringing with it moisture, mold spores, and dirt that lower indoor air quality.
IMPROVED EFFICIENCY
A two-pipe system supplies combustion air from outdoors, whereas a traditional one- pipe furnace uses air that has already been conditioned and heated for combustion. This means money was spent to treat air unnecessarily before it’s used to burn gas then exhausted out the chimney. A steady supply of unconditioned air means money isn’t wasted during furnace operation and your furnace will always be assured adequate combustion air to run at peak efficiency.
QUIET OPERATION
A two-pipe furnace can provide industry-leading levels of quiet. By bringing in the clean combustion air from outdoors, any sound created by the air entering the furnace is outdoors and away from earshot. In addition, two-pipe 90 % furnaces feature isolated combustion and a patented combustion air box that provides two layers of steel between combustion and the installed space.
EMHANCED FURNACE LIFE
By bringing clean outdoor air to the furnace for combustion, you can eliminate harmful indoor air contaminates from entering your furnace, while reducing heat exchanger corrosion, and enhancing overall furnace life.