For many consumers, the cost of heating their homes takes a huge bite out of their monthly budget. This is why you have decided to do your homework and figure out ways you lower your heating bills. Unfortunately, a lot of the information you have read and heard about the cost of owning and operating a furnace are not true and that advice could be costing you money.

Here are a few of the most common myths and misconceptions relating to the cost of operating your furnace.

Using Space Heaters Is Cheaper Than Running Your Furnace

Instead of purchasing a new, energy-efficient furnace, you have decided it would be more cost-effective to buy a few space heaters and strategically place them throughout your home. Space heaters claim to heat your home for a fraction of the cost of a furnace, but this is not true. In reality, a single space heater may help make you more comfortable in a single room but replacing your furnace with multiple space heaters will wind up costing you in the long run.

Space heaters require electricity and when you use multiple space heaters, your electric bills will actually be higher than using a furnace that runs off of natural gas. Additionally, space heaters can be dangerous and should not be used without supervision, making it unsafe to run space heaters when you are not home.

A Bigger Furnace Will Save You Money

You are in the market for a new furnace and are considers a much bigger size furnace to heat your home because the bigger furnace will heat your home more quickly and save you money, right? In reality, if you purchase a furnace that is too large for your home's square footage, you will actually lower your furnace's efficiency and might even place your family in danger.

A furnace that is too large for your home will constantly turn on and off. This is because the heat cycles are shorter as the larger furnace requires less time to heat your home. This will cause unnecessary wear and tear on your furnace, including excessive damage to the heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is a piece of metal that pushes warm air into your home and filters out carbon monoxide-containing exhaust.

If the heat exchanger becomes warped it cannot work effectively, which could result in a carbon monoxide leak inside your home. Contact a professional HVAC technician to determine the best size furnace for your home.

From replacing your furnace with multiple space heaters to the idea that when it comes to a furnace, bigger is always the best option, there are several myths associated with the cost of your furnace systems.