Nat Gas furnaces

[fkj2]

I currently have a Carrier furnace in the house but it's getting older and I'm anticipating it will soon need to be replaced.

I would appreciate anyone's opinions regarding efficiency and price of furnaces that they think might be a good choice.

Thanks.

 

[Ed J]

You have not provided enough information, to answer your question.

If you live in a cooling dominate climate the cost to move up to a 90% or higher furnace probably will not see a worthwhile return on investment (ROI), where as if you live in a heating dominated climate it may be the best investment you'll ever make. ROI's in some climates can be an easy 1000%, that's the kind of return I'm always looking for .

 

[fkj2]

You have not provided enough information, to answer your question.

If you live in a cooling dominate climate the cost to move up to a 90% or higher furnace probably will not see a worthwhile return on investment (ROI), where as if you live in a heating dominated climate it may be the best investment you'll ever make. ROI's in some climates can be an easy 1000%, that's the kind of return I'm always looking for .

I live in NE Ohio; we can have winter and summer weather in the same day, using both the heat and a/c.

I need a new A/C as well.

 

[Ed J]

Without knowing your fuel costs I'm confident that moving up to a 90% eff furnace will be cost effective. The ac, standard eff should be fine.

Brand takes a backseat to the quality of the install, google ACCA and research how to pick a contractor. ACCA is an industry org that sets standards that good contractors will follow. A company that has NATE certified techs is a big plus also.

Check with utility companies offering HVAC rebates and or energy audit programs.

If you are looking for advice on brands, just stick with something you heard of and you should be fine.

 

[fkj2]

If you are looking for advice on brands, just stick with something you heard of and you should be fine.

That's exactly what I wanted: advice on dependable furnaces. From an environmental standpoint, I would like an efficient unit, but durable. Having said that, I have a private source of nat gas; I don't use a utility.

 

[hercamore]

In our nbrhood in SE mn, Lennox seems to be popular both furnaceand a/c units.

 

[ORDisneyfans]

We own an hvac business (23 yrs). We sell Rheem units. We have been a Rheem dealer for 16 years.That said, the quality of the install is 75% of the job with the unit being less important. We are a referral type business, meaning we do not advertise in the yellow pages, tv etc. We get all of our business from repeat customers and customer referrals. We are also not the largest company in our area or the cheapest. We are honest, fair, do good work and treat all of our customers like our friends.

I would recommend using your network of friends and see which dealer stands out as being recommended the most. We almost always sell the higher eff, units as we live in an extreme climate, hot on the summer and cold in the winter. The new standards are very high and an 80% will be much more eff than even a 12 or 15 yr old unit.

Carrier and Lenox are proprietory which means there parts are not interchangeable with other brands thus harder to work on and harder to get parts for. Good Luck in your decision. Check your state to see if there are any good tax credits or local rebates available. Sorry for the book!!

 

[fkj2]

The new standards are very high and an 80% will be much more eff than even a 12 or 15 yr old unit.

Carrier and Lenox are proprietory which means there parts are not interchangeable with other brands thus harder to work on and harder to get parts for. Good Luck in your decision. Check your state to see if there are any good tax credits or local rebates available. Sorry for the book!!

Well, my furnace is 20+ years old.

Great idea to check for tax credits/rebates. Thanks!

 

[Gigi22]

A 20 year old natural gas furnace? You are doing well--our medium efficiency Carrier died at about the 18 year mark. I was told that this was within the usual 'life expectancy' for the medium-efficiency Carrier. We replaced it with a high efficiency Carrier furnace and also replaced our a/c with a high efficiency Carrier model and have a maintenance contract with the installing company, Carrier specialists. From experience I would suggest that if you select a furnace, you also go with a company that specializes in that furnace for maintenance. For our last furnace we had our maintenance through our gas company, and the arrangement was less than satisfactory. The gas company (a huge company) never had the right parts in stock. I took very great pleasure in informing them that we no longer had a relationship for furnace or a/c maintenance!

 

[thomas998]

Here is another thing to consider. If you are planning on using the new foam insulation that effectively seals your house and makes the attic much cooler then you need to make sure your furnace is at least 90% efficient. We didn't check into all the details of furnaces and found out when we had people give us estimates on new insulation that until we remove the furnace and get one at least 90% efficient that we can't go to foam and seal the house because it would cause excessive carbon monoxide that would kill everyone in the house.... so if you plan on ever upgrading to the new foam insulation get the better furnace now.

 

[fkj2]

I appreciate everyone's input.

 

[Phil'sFrontier]

Consider doing some investigation on where heat loss occurs in the home. Doing a 'blower door test' will show your how much air you are letting into your house and from where. Common sources of draft are chimney, electrical outlets on exterior walls, ceiling mounted lights on the top floor.