Thinking of Updating furnace to a high efficant furnace. Any advice?

[spacescape]

My furnace guy game over today and cleaned out all the drywall dust and replaced the thermal coupler and a few other annual things. I discussed w/ him the age of my furnace (1987) and if I should consider replacing it due to the fact that gas prices are going to leap this year. He didn't get really pushy and kind of took a stance of "if it isn't broke don't fix it"... but at the same time "newer furnaces are more more efficient"... He said everything checked out good and it's just something I need to decide if I want to do now (which would save me some cash in the long run) or wait until I need to.

In the past 12 months I have used about 975.0 CCF worth of natural gas which was under $1000 for the last 12 months... However, this winter I'm concerned w/ the fact that Michigan State Officials are predicting that gas prices will be rising about 40%... With that fact, I'm thinking it might be time to replace my 17-18 year old furnace. He was pushing a 80% efficient furnace and seeing my A/C was installed in 1997 (two years before I moved it), I really wouldn't need to replace it... It was very very reasonable... For about 15% more, I can get a 90% efficient furnace...

I figure that I would want the high efficient furnace... Even with gas prices on the rise this year, how do I justify spending the cash on a furnace? I just need a little push in the right direction on wether or not I should spend the cash this year.

Oh, and my furnace guy quoted me a WeatherKing 90RJ which is 90% Efficient and a WeatherKing which is 80% efficient. From what I've read on the forum, WeatherKing is a decent "builders" furnace if I'm looking at budget and reliability... Would I do better buying something a little better?

Thanks!
Bill

[Edited by spacescape on 10-14-2005 at 09:24 PM]

[dhvac]

ok first off figure that you can save around 20% by going with a 90+ just a guess could be a little more or less so you have all the numbers and know how long it would take to pay for itsself and would it be worth it to you to spend more now to save in the long run?

[york_hvac]

If you want the best in comfort, check out the Carrier Infinity. Do a search for Infinty on this site and you will see what I mean.

[Christheheatingdude]

Gas prices are just going to continue to rise. No one can say exactly how much. But with the volatile market, severe weather & demand increases there is no doubt about it.

Replacing your furnace is worth serious consideration. And a 90+ is the direction that you want to go in. The savings are going to be there. But how long it will take to see a return on your investment, is a good question. Again depending on the market, it could be anything.

Your first concern with any heating system should be your comfort. Followed closely by effiecency.

[river_t]

2 Words my friend: Heat Pump.

[Christheheatingdude]

Originally posted by river_t
2 Words my friend: Heat Pump.

Dual Fuel

[spacescape]

Originally posted by dhvac
ok first off figure that you can save around 20% by going with a 90+ just a guess could be a little more or less so you have all the numbers and know how long it would take to pay for itsself and would it be worth it to you to spend more now to save in the long run?

See, this is what concerns me... "IF" the prices stay the same, it would take me 5-7 years to break even... But if they go up 40%, it might still be worth it...

Thanks.

[ryan_the_furnace_guy]

Unfortunately this is a sticking point between myself and ALL of my customers. We can't help you decide which type of person you are. You are either type A (likes to spend little up front, cares less about savings later) or you are type B (will spend more now and eagerly anticipate the savings).

You have to make this decision, which type of person are you?

Just remember, it's only a purchase you make about every twenty years, so an extra grand is not the end of the world (in perspective to other life expenses)

In my opinion, I would buy the 90%er.

One other point: if you are not the type of person who has your things regularly maintained, DON'T buy the 90%er.

[Edited by ryan_the_furnace_guy on 10-14-2005 at 09:45 PM]

[Jultzya]

Originally posted by ryan_the_furnace_guy
One other point: if you are not the type of person who has your things regularly maintained, DON'T buy the 90%er.

Why not?

[BaldLoonie]

WeatherKing is a great value in a furnace. Simple units, quite a bit less than similar units in the Rheem name. You can spend more and get 2 stage or even the variable input Mod which blows away anything else in heating comfort. But at a price $$$.

Yes, dual fuel is a good idea, even in Michigan. Would it pay to take out a late A/C model unit? Hard to say. Might first update the furnace to a 90+ and see how you like your bills. Then as the A/C gets more age, think about changing to a heat pump.

[beenthere]

Go with the 90% furnace.
When its time to replace the a/c, get a heat pump instead.

[ryan_the_furnace_guy]

Originally posted by jultzya

Originally posted by ryan_the_furnace_guy
One other point: if you are not the type of person who has your things regularly maintained, DON'T buy the 90%er.

Why not?

I guess my thinking was: if you don't maintain it, you are wrecking a furnace that costs more.

[knippknipp]

Originally posted by ryan_the_furnace_guy

Originally posted by jultzya

Originally posted by ryan_the_furnace_guy
One other point: if you are not the type of person who has your things regularly maintained, DON'T buy the 90%er.

Why not?

I guess my thinking was: if you don't maintain it, you are wrecking a furnace that costs more.

What about the fact too that if they don't maintain them such as simple filter changes, they would be looking at a plugged up secondary exchanger and the chance of damage to the HX.

[beenthere]

With that reasoning, only a few select customers should buy high eff a/c's.

[spacescape]

Just wondering... "if" we are discussing moving in 4-5 years (moved in this house in 1999), does a newer furnace have a good return on investment? For example, if I paid $2000 (just a fake figure) on a furnace, and moved... would I at least get that back when I sold the house based on it's a "newer furnace"?

Oh, and my house is a 1,100 square foot ranch w/ a basement and currently has a 75,000 BTU furnace in it... My furnace guy said that 75,000 is all that I would need... The basement is finished, so, should I take that in consideration when figuring out the BTU's?

Thanks...

Bill

[dan sw fl]

Originally posted by beenthere
Go with the 90% furnace.
When its time to replace the a/c, get a heat pump instead.

[jthomas21]

Originally posted by spacescape
Just wondering... "if" we are discussing moving in 4-5 years (moved in this house in 1999), does a newer furnace have a good return on investment?

My thought is NO. You appraisal value of your home assumes you have a good working furnace. It's not likely you'll be able to charge more than the appraisal value. I just sold a house, and nobody cared about the new furnace. If you are in a competitive housing market, you may have an easier time selling your house when you advertise that it has a new Ultra-High Efficiency furnace that will cost 100s less to operate than a similar home.