The energy consumption of the motor is therefore fixed at a single maximum rate.Įlectronically commutated motors (ECM) represent an advance in blower motor efficiency that saves substantial energy and improves aspects of overall system performance. It’s either running at full output or it’s not running at all. The output of a PSC motor isn’t controllable and it has no intermediate speeds. Short for permanent split capacitor, PSC motors are designed to do what furnace motors have always done in the past: simply turn on and off. On many installed furnaces, the original (OEM) blower motor is a PSC model. Upgrading to a furnace ECM motor when you renew your system avoids that disappointment, as well as the higher utility costs that come with it.
Therefore, homeowners who opt to upgrade to a new furnace or A/C yet keep the old-school, inefficient blower motor may discover they don’t receive the efficiency gains they expected based on the published ratings.
Yet, when published efficiency ratings for new furnaces and air conditioners are computed in the laboratory, the efficiency of the blower motor isn’t included in the calculation. The same holds true for the air conditioner blower located in the air handler. One of the primary energy consumers in your heating system is the furnace blower motor.