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QUESTION:The time has come to think about upgrading our rather large unknown age (>50
y.o. at least!) inefficient yet reliable gas furnace. Got the monthly gas
bill yesterday and our budget plan payment has gone from $109 to $161 (last
year) to $210/month. I have to think that a new furnace would be a good
investment. On the other hand, maybe the old reliable would last
forever...
This is for a 2 floor, single family built around 1910 with forced hot water
radiators.
What is state-of-the-art these days for a replacement furnace? What should I
be looking for? So far I see that some are Energy Star Compliant. But
what's considered the best manufacturer?
ANSWER: We just switched from oil to nat. gas in January. Our oil furnace was
c.1960 with an updated burner from about 1985. The furnace guys guessed
that at best the efficiency was 60%, maybe pushing 70% after a tuneup.
Our main goal was getting away from heating oil, the delivery truck, the
above-ground tank in the back yard and the wildly fluctuating oil prices
from fill to fill (gas price is regulated by the PUC).
Decided to go with a top'o'da'line Lennox at 94% efficiency. Furnace
itself cost about $3450 with permits, labor and materials on top ($1000
+/-). We also elected to go with an electrostatic air filter for $600.
Surprisingly the thing really gets dirty and the wash water is just
about black.
We were fortunate to have several rebates available to us from the gas
company and Lennox - $200 from gas co. & $400 from Lennox - plus a $350
state tax credit.
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