Considering a new furnace...how to make sense of the choices?

[John01]

Hi everyone.

I have an older furnace that is in good working order, no issues. I can't determine the age, but I would guess older than 20 years. I bought the house about ten years ago, and the furnace has run without a hiccup.

As far as climate zones go, average winter temperature spread is 35 f low, 45 f high, kind of moderate winters. (Tacoma, Washington area)

I'm thinking about upgrading to a more efficient furnace, and want to get more educated before I get contractors out to my house, and start wading through the sales pitches.

Now I'm down to determining what level of efficiency of unit, and which brand.

I'm thinking something along the line of an 80%, two stage unit. Furnace only, no A/C.

Now, with regards to brands, I'm overwhelmed with info, and not all of it positive. I have read about brand x (top level brand), with a history of failing heat exchangers, and another top shelf company with a class action lawsuit against them for quality issues.

I've got a working, (although older and I'm certain less efficient) unit, and am absolutely terrified of "upgrading" my way into some POS furnace that is just one problem after another.

The name brand is worthless if the quality control is questionable, or if service is an issue.

Is there a comprehensive ranking that sorts these companies and models on mean time between failure, or anything like that? (yes, I'm an analysis freak..)

Thoughts? Advice?

Thanks.

[syndicated]

Hi everyone.

I have an older furnace that is in good working order, no issues. I can't determine the age, but I would guess older than 20 years. I bought the house about ten years ago, and the furnace has run without a hiccup.

As far as climate zones go, average winter temperature spread is 35 f low, 45 f high, kind of moderate winters. (Tacoma, Washington area)

I'm thinking about upgrading to a more efficient furnace, and want to get more educated before I get contractors out to my house, and start wading through the sales pitches.

Now I'm down to determining what level of efficiency of unit, and which brand.

I'm thinking something along the line of an 80%, two stage unit. Furnace only, no A/C.

Now, with regards to brands, I'm overwhelmed with info, and not all of it positive. I have read about brand x (top level brand), with a history of failing heat exchangers, and another top shelf company with a class action lawsuit against them for quality issues.

I've got a working, (although older and I'm certain less efficient) unit, and am absolutely terrified of "upgrading" my way into some POS furnace that is just one problem after another.

The name brand is worthless if the quality control is questionable, or if service is an issue.

Is there a comprehensive ranking that sorts these companies and models on mean time between failure, or anything like that? (yes, I'm an analysis freak..)

Thoughts? Advice?

Thanks.

Same thing happens with cars....
Pick a good installing company and a brand with a good warranty.

[54regcab]

The main thing is not to oversize, otherwise you are throwing your money away on a 2 stage. The idea is the 1st stage won't be able to do the job during design conditions and the 2nd stage will then kick in. Know the size of your current furnace and how much it is on and off each cycle when it gets really cold outside. A 40k furnace will work in a 2000 sqft house down to about a 20 degree outdoor temperature if it's insulated decent and the ductwork is in good shape.

[Mr Bill]

Depending on the size of your TV, sometimes folks might need to oversize a little.

[Twilly]

Twilly says bigger the tv the better. Twilly got modulating tv.

[Mr Bill]

Twilly says bigger the tv the better. Twilly got modulating tv.

Mr Bill got him one of them there 2 stage TV's I can watch Wagon Train and the Lone Ranger at the same time.


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[Cooked]

Mr Bill got him one of them there 2 stage TV's I can watch Wagon Train and the Lone Ranger at the same time.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Get one like I did, an 80" tri-modulating Sharp Aquos and you can do all that, eat some Gravy Train and watch America's Team at the same time!

[jtrammel]

A heat pump would most likely be your best choice in that climate. If installed, ducted and sealed properly you will get very close to the same output temp as a high efficiency furnace with better efficiency as long as your electric rates are not very high.

[John01]

The main thing is not to oversize, otherwise you are throwing your money away on a 2 stage. The idea is the 1st stage won't be able to do the job during design conditions and the 2nd stage will then kick in. Know the size of your current furnace and how much it is on and off each cycle when it gets really cold outside. A 40k furnace will work in a 2000 sqft house down to about a 20 degree outdoor temperature if it's insulated decent and the ductwork is in good shape.

The existing furnace does not cycle very much, although I have not timed it between cycles, and have not timed how long it runs when on. House is reasonably insulated, about 2500 sq ft. On the furnace data plate, it says input BTU is 123,000. Would that be 123k?

[beenthere]

The existing furnace does not cycle very much, although I have not timed it between cycles, and have not timed how long it runs when on. House is reasonably insulated, about 2500 sq ft. On the furnace data plate, it says input BTU is 123,000. Would that be 123k?

Yeah, that would be 125 thousand. Way bigger then needed for your climate area.

[54regcab]

40-60K should be good for 2500sqft, have a load calculation done.

[RoBoTeq]

The existing furnace does not cycle very much, although I have not timed it between cycles, and have not timed how long it runs when on. House is reasonably insulated, about 2500 sq ft. On the furnace data plate, it says input BTU is 123,000. Would that be 123k?

Yes, 123,000 Btu is the same as 123k. It is not the input that matters, but rather the output. If your furnace is an 80% efficient furnace, it's output heating your house is 98,400 Btu, but if your furnace is 95% efficient, you have 116,850 Btu of heat being pumped into your house.

If you are located in a fairly northern part of the world, your furnace may be fine for your application.

[beenthere]

John, I broke this out of the thread so you may get some other opinions.