Home Furnace Replacement

Furnace Replacement in
Southern Maryland With SMO Energy

SMO Energy serves clients across Southern Maryland and offers a variety of HVAC services, including:

- Furnace installation
- Furnace replacement
- Furnace repair and service
- Furnace maintenance
- Annual furnace tune-ups
- Fuel delivery
- Service agreements

If you are not sure what your furnace needs or if it is time for a new one, you can schedule a free in-home energy consultation. One of our energy consultants will visit your home, listen to your needs and concerns, answer your questions and make recommendations to you.

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Schedule Your Free In-Home Energy Consultation

Not sure if it’s time for a new furnace? Don’t know what type of furnace you need? Fill out this form and one of our Client Care representatives will contact you shortly to schedule your free in-home energy consultation.

Why Choose SMO Energy for Furnace Replacement?

We are a locally-operated business and we know heating equipment. We know when furnaces are working well, when they need help and when it is time for a furnace replacement. We can quickly and easily install a brand-new furnace that can dramatically reduce your energy costs and increase your total home comfort.

Our fully trained, technicians can install your furnace as well as provide needed repairs and regular maintenance to make sure your furnace is working optimally at all times. Whatever the job is, our team has done it before and is happy to do it for you.

SMO Energy does more than replace and install furnaces. We also perform routine maintenance to keep your furnace working as efficiently as possible. We offer service agreements for oil and gas furnaces. Should something go wrong with your furnace, you have the reassurance that we will be there to fix it.

Your furnace works constantly, and there is a chance that something could go wrong with it in the middle of the night or early in the morning. SMO Energy offers around-the-clock emergency heating equipment repair in Southern Maryland. Even if your furnace decides to break at 2 in the morning, we can get someone out to your home to assist as soon as possible.

There are other reasons to choose SMO Energy for your furnace and home heating and cooling needs:

No hidden or delivery fees on heating oil
Free monthly payment plans
Online account management services
Live client care representatives available 24/7

Get Your Free Furnace Consultation and Estimate Today

10 Common Furnace Questions

Want answers to your most pressing questions about your home’s furnace or heating fuel? You have come to the right place. Learn more about your home’s furnace and your heating options in Southern Maryland.

1. What Is a Furnace?

A furnace is a piece of equipment used to heat a home. Furnaces provide heating to a home by warming air. The warm air then travels to each room in a house through ducts. Furnaces are an example of a central heating system. The furnace creates heat in a centralized location, such as in the basement of the home. Ductwork is used to distribute the heat to the rest of the house.

Furnaces typically cycle on when they receive a signal from a thermostat to increase the temperature. For example, a house might be 70 degrees. Feeling chilly, a homeowner might turn the thermostat up to 72 degrees. After the control board on a furnace confirms that it is safe to operate, the furnace’s fuel source — usually either gas or oil — will ignite.

The ignition will warm the air, which travels through the ducts. The furnace will continue operating until the thermostat reaches the set temperature and sends a signal to the furnace to cycle down. If the temperature measured by the thermostat falls below the set temperature, the furnace will cycle on again.

2. What Types of Furnaces Are Available?

You have many options when it comes to choosing a furnace. Furnace types vary based on the fuel source used. For example, some furnaces are powered by natural gas or propane, others by heating oil. A furnace can also be powered by electricity.

Furnaces also differ when it comes to their annual fuel utilization efficiency (AFUE) rating. A furnace’s AFUE rating measures the efficiency of the furnace in terms of converting fuel into heat. The type of fuel used by the furnace influences its AFUE rating. Generally, a higher rating means a more fuel-efficient furnace.

A furnace can either be single-stage or two-stage. Single-stage furnaces have one power setting while two-stage furnaces have two — half power and full power. A two-stage furnace operates on half power when it does not need to provide a lot of heat. On colder days or at times when the furnace needs to provide more heat to warm the house to the set temperature, it runs on full power.

3. What Is Forced Air Oil Heating?

Forced air heating uses air to distribute heat throughout a house. The furnace heats the air before it is sent through the ductwork in the rooms of a home. The heated air exits the ducts through vents placed in each room. Usually, the same ducts that are used for forced air heating are also used for a home’s air conditioning system, sending cold air throughout the house when the weather is warm.

Forced air heating systems can run on a variety of fuels. In homes that use oil heat, a forced air oil heating system will use an oil-fired furnace to heat the air.

4. What Is the Advantage of Forced Air Heating?

Forced air heating systems offer several advantages to homeowners compared to other heating systems. Usually, forced air furnaces are more energy-efficient, especially if a homeowner has recently replaced an older furnace or keeps their existing furnace in good working order. Forced air heating systems also tend to have lower costs of ownership compared to other systems. Another advantage of forced air heating systems is that they can share the same ductwork as a home’s air conditioning, providing heating and cooling to homes throughout the year.

5. What Is the Lifespan of a Furnace?

A furnace can have a lifespan of up to 30 years. The average furnace has a lifespan of about 15 years when well-maintained. Although furnaces do have long lifespans, it is often the case that a homeowner will want to replace theirs before its life is up as older furnaces tend to be much less efficient compared to newer models. Modern furnaces can have efficiency ratings of up to 98%, while older models tend to have efficiency ratings between 56 and 70%. Upgrading to a newer model can help a homeowner enjoy improved comfort and significantly lower energy bills.

6. What Is a High-Efficiency Furnace? What Makes a Furnace High Efficiency?

A furnace’s efficiency is measured by comparing the amount of fuel it uses to the amount of heat it produces. The rating used is annual fuel utilization efficiency or AFUE. The higher a furnace’s AFUE rating, the more efficient it is. The most energy-efficient furnaces available today have AFUE ratings between 90% and 98.5%. Furnace manufacturers need to display the AFUE rating of each model so people can compare their options when shopping for new equipment.

AFUE is not the only factor that makes a furnace high-efficiency. High-efficiency furnaces also have a second heat chamber for condensing flue gases and sealed combustion.

7. What Furnace Do I Need?

The type of furnace you need in your Southern Maryland home depends on a variety of factors. The type of fuel source you currently use, and whether you would like to switch to a different option, influence the type of furnace that will work in your home. The size of your home also plays a role in determining what kind of furnace is most appropriate. An energy consultant from SMO Energy can visit your home, discuss your needs and help you choose the best furnace for you.

8. What Is the Difference Between a Furnace and a Heat Pump?

A heat pump is another type of home heating system. One of the most significant differences between a heat pump and a furnace is the method they use to heat a home. Furnaces generate heat in a house, using an ignited fuel source to warm the air.

Heat pumps do not make heat. Instead, they move heat. During the winter months, a heat pump warms a home by transferring heat from the outside to the inside of a house. The source of the heat depends on the type of heat pump system installed in a home. Heat pumps can gather heat from the water, the air or the ground.

Along with heating a house, a heat pump can also cool a home in the warmer months. The method of a cooling a house is similar to the process of warming it. A heat pump cools by transferring heat from the inside of the house to the outside.

9. How Often Should Your Furnace Run?

Ideally, your furnace will not be cycling on and off every few minutes. When a furnace cycles on and off frequently, it usually indicates a problem with the system. The furnace might not be sized appropriately for the size of the house, the thermostat might be malfunctioning or the air filters and ducts might need to be cleaned.

When everything is in good working order, you can usually expect your furnace to run two to three cycles per hour. It is also worth noting that your furnace might run for longer cycles when the temperatures outside are nearer to freezing.

10. What Do You Do When Your Furnace Goes Out?

One of the first things you should do if your furnace goes out or does not seem to be working is to check to confirm that the unit is on. You can also confirm that the thermostat is on and set to the right temperature. In some cases, the switch on a thermostat or furnace can get bumped, switching the unit off.

If your furnace is on and still not working, your best option is to call SMO Energy and have a repair person come out and take a look. We offer 24/7 emergency service, so you can call on us when your furnace breaks, even if it is the middle of the night.

You do not have to wait for your furnace to shut down completely to get repair help. It is often more cost-effective to call for heater repairs at the first sign of a problem, such as rooms that do not heat evenly or an increase in your energy bills.

Furnace Services We Offer

Furnace
Repair & Service

Furnace
Replacement & Installation

Furnace
Maintenance & Tune-Ups

Furnace
Warranties & Financing

Contact SMO Energy for Furnace Repair and Replacement in Maryland

If your furnace is not heating your home like it once did or your energy bills have skyrocketed, SMO Energy can help. Our technicians can examine your furnace and let you know whether repairing it or replacing it would be your best option. Schedule a free consultation today to start the furnace repair or replacement process or to get answers to your questions about your furnace.

We provide service to the following counties in Southern Maryland:

St. Mary’s County
Anne Arundel County
Prince George’s County
Charles County
Calvert County

SMO Energy does more than replace furnaces. Whether you are interested in fuel delivery, heating or cooling equipment or want a service plan to protect your heating or cooling systems, reach out to us today.