www.barrongreenteam.com/2008/01/five-furnace-types.html
If this link works you will see a nice explanation of all the furnace types. I won't even attempt to present any opinion as of yet. What I would like to see is if several in the neighborhood are shopping for a new furnace then perhaps we can, as a group, contract with someone for a block deal. Come forth and agree that all buyers get the same price or discount, installed and at a significant savings. It would be a hoot to work our pricing down as a purchasing group. These type of businesses can be wheeler dealers and you never know what you are getting into. A group approach to this would be an opportunity to get significant savings. What do you think?
Add your comments about Heating systems replacement and purchasing group
Add your comments about Heating systems replacement and purchasing group
I did a Blog post about a purchsing group so please check that out. I think it's worth a try to make this work. Ted
ReplyDeleteI just had my furnace replaced for the second time.
ReplyDeleteIn 2003 the furnace was replaced but unknown to me they put in a furnace that was too small. I though I was getting an exact replacement for the original furnace in terms of BTU. I opted for a variable speed fan, multistage unit and thought I would not have to worry about it anymore. But every winter during cold spells the house was chilly and felt drafty.
Finally after waiting for 5 to 6 hours every morning for the house to warm up whenever the outside temperature was below freezing, I did some research and found that the furnace they actually put in in 2003 was only 88,000 BTU and had an efficiency rating of 76%. A few days ago I replaced it with a 120,000 BTU, 95% efficiency, three stage furnace.
The point of the story is to do your research first and be sure that you check everything and don't just take the word of the heating company, double check. Learn how to read the model numbers to find the BTU so you can see what they actually install.
By the way. They have a 30% tax credit this year if you install a 95% efficiency unit and Puget Power also rebates about 300 dollars.
Mike Forrester
Lot 40
After a long drawn out period of time doing research on a furnace we installed a new one in Jan, 2010. Much like what Mike Forrester found the High Efficiency multi-stage is very effective and a huge advantage to the one stage Payne's most of us have. Time for some background on furnaces...
ReplyDeleteWho Makes What?
Good question because with approximately 80 + makers to choose from and many model's within those groups to choose from, you have hundreds of choices. Well actually the choice you have is dependent on the contractor you choose. Said another way, if you have a desire for one furnace over another you have to deal with the contractor who represents that company. According to several of the companies I talked too basically 7-8 companies OEM almost everyone else. Thus Amana = Coleman and Frigidaire, Byrant=Carrier and Trane=American Standard to mention a few I could research. The only one that builds and markets their own is Lennox. I even found some local companies who build their own. Sources sell components as the sizes of the "root" lines are standard. You just stack them in the proper order with spacer sections where needed and you have a furnace unit. Some other key parts besides the variable speed blower are the burner, air filters and thermostat. Of these the burner that is one piece and not welded [especially spot welded] is important. The issue with Natural Gas is that it has a moisture content. That, believe it or not, is a part of failure of this type. The moisture breaks down the fusion of the burner unit and thus can lead to replacement in the future. The quality of the blower motor is important as well but I was not able to get a solid handle on this. Multi-speed is best because it mixes the heated air in your house. This evens out the heat and fires the furnace less often.
The updates in thermostat's is huge. Again I'm deficient on the particulars but basically they are more accurate, digital, sensitive and offer many options over what was installed 20 years ago. They are installed, in our home in a central spot, usually the front entry hall. What happens in our home is that the heat comes on and the areas of the house we spent lots of time gets warm and those parts that we don't spend time get less [like where the thermostat is located]. The Heating Contractor designed it that way and supplemented the distribution of hot air with scoops installed in the duct work to insure this. With a One speed furnace blower, our home comes up to temperature and then the furnace shuts off. The thermostat is usually in a place [central front hall or entry] and this area cools the fastest. The thermostat clicks back on now to warm even though we are warm in the kitchen family room, maybe too warm. The advantage of the multi-speed furnace fan is [I already said this but it needs to be said again] is that it continues to circulate the air, even out the temperature and thus fire the furnace less often to reheat the front central entry where we don't spend the time.
What did I get? We elected on a Lennox from a Costco Contractor. I get a Tax rebate, a Puget Power rebate [still looking into this one] and a Costco rebate, as I but the purchase on my AMEX Costco card. The price tag was $7000 [installed] so less the rebates it was, I feel, a bargain. The spec's of the Lennox proved to be superior in many or all the before mentioned criteria I talked about. The company was M M Comfort Systems of Redmond, WA. They have been in the commercial side for decades and added residential in the last 10 years. They are a Costco vendor and extremely interested in Costco being happy with their relations with Costco customers. They take care of the permitting with City of Sammamish, and the inspections [required working with gas lines and electricity].
Good luck on your adventures of heating replacement in your homes.
It's been 1 month, almost to the day, since installation of the new Hi-efficiency furnace. My wife is telling me that our gas bill is dramatically lower this month. I'm not sure what part of this billing cycle is reflected by the new furnace but I'm assuming at least 50-60%. In that short amount of time our bill is $100 less. We have been consistent in the thermostat setting and admittedly the outside temps are higher than last year but not as much more than last month. If this trend continues the savings is much more than I expected. I'll try and update this later, say at 3 and 6 months. I'm liking the trend as of right now!
ReplyDeleteThe "beat go's on" as they say. Gas usage is again down significantly this month [March 10] and this seems to be managed better by the multi-stage vs the 1 stage we changed from [original]. Last month the billing was about $100 less then this time last year and this month about $60 less. Going in our favor is the higher outdoor temperatures we have seen this winter over last year at this same time. So that gives you some comparison but if the weather was the same this year as last the comparison would be a better view of the change.
ReplyDeleteI think yet another difference is the continuous circulation of air with the multi-stage furnace therefore keeping all areas of the house warmer. The central hall, where the thermostat is located, tends to cool faster and therefore turns the furnace on more often.
Oh yea...it didn't hurt that PSE gave a rebate [$250] and the Federal tax credit [$1500] will come [2010] but I put the charge on my Costco AMEX card and ended up with $600 cash card from Costco. Nice Domino effect!
I'm reading some updated information about Geothermal. Here is the link..
ReplyDeletehttp://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/ecoconsumer/2013059397_ecoconsumer09m.html