Furnace shopping

Well my 20 year old Rheem furnace just wasn't cutting it anymore. One HVAC company claimed that I needed a new inducer motor at $700-800 ($525 for the motor and $200-300 labor; and they charged $95 to come out and diagnose the problem) another company said I needed a new control board at $329. Basically, the furnace would start to heat up and then turn off and then start to heat up again and turn off, etc. I didn't want to dump any more money into it so it was time to consider a new furnace.

Here are the quotes that I received:

Carrier Comfort 80, 90,000 BTU, 1 stage furnace - $2210.00 - also take off $50 for Carrier rebate

Carrier Performance 80, 90k BTU, 2 stage standard furnace $2460.00 - also take off $75 for Carrier rebate

Carrier Infinity 80, 90k BTU, 2 stage variable $3060.00 - also take off $100 for Carrier rebate

other sundries - $55 to install furnace filter rack with 4" filter; humidifier - $390; install flue liner in chimney $320.00; 5 year warranty on parts and labor and 20 year warranty on heat exchanger

High efficiency Carrier models -

Carrier Infinity 92%, 80k 1 stage = $3200

Carrier Infinity 93 - 80k BTU 2 stage = $3400

Carrier Infinity 96 - 80k BTU 2 stage variable = $4260

I also got some quotes on Westinghouse furnaces as follows:

80% AFUE Two-Stage, Variable Speed Gas Furnace - $3100

I need to pull the quote to see which high efficiency model I was quoted on but it was $3600. It was a 95% efficiency 72,000 BTU 2 stage furnace.

The HVAC company that went through Westinghouse highly recommended the 80% 2 stage variable speed furnace. He indicated that the higher efficiency models have more parts that can go wrong and that they required more service calls. I noticed that you can get a $200 tax credit for 2007 if you purchase a high efficiency 95% furnace so the difference in price would've been about $300 (not sure if I was quoted on the 95% though). Based on his recommendation, I went with the 80% model. As he stated, it would be a big improvement over my old Rheem. I got the feeling that he didn't want to mess with getting the PVC venting pipe through the side of the house. I also added the humidifier. Not sure why the damn thing was $400. It seems pretty simple but after years without one and with messing with those dinky room humidifiers, I bit the bullet.

So far, the new Westinghouse rocks. It is incredibly quiet and does a great job of evenly heating the whole house. The variable speed blower and the 2 stage burn are the keys. On warmer days, the furnace runs at the lower setting. On colder days, the furnace runs at the higher setting.

If you are in a similar situation, don't burn money on a 20+ year old furnace. It may be time to get a new one. Furnace technology has come a long ways in 20 years.

I also dug up my past gas usage to compare with this winter -

Nov 2006 - 39 Ccf
Dec 2006 - 45 Ccf Estimate
Jan 2007 - 56 Ccf
Feb 2007 - 53 Ccf Estimate
March 2007 - 128 Ccf
April 2007 - 35 Ccf

Furnace shopping

As I mentioned above, I purchased a new furnace back in November. Let's do a quick and dirty comparison of last year to this year on gas bills.

Nov 06 - 39 Ccf - Nov 07 - 14 Ccf

Dec 06 - 45 Ccf E - Dec 07 - 57 Ccf Estimated

Jan 07 - 56 Ccf - Jan 08 111 Ccf

Feb 07 - 53 Ccf Estimate - Feb 08 - 89 Ccf Estimated

March 07 - 128 Ccf - March 08 - 127 Ccf

April 07 - 35 Ccf - April 08 - 78 Ccf Estimated

Well it appears we've been using quite a bit more natural gas this winter. We have been keeping the thermostat at around 70 and one of us is generally home all day. Last year, we kept the thermostat at around 65 or so. Let's look at some other factors as well.

Here's electric usage for last year and this year

Nov 06 806 KWH - Nov 07 800 KWH

Dec 06 1200 KWH - Dec 07 1152 KWH

Jan 07 1258 KWH - Jan 08 1164 KWH

Feb 07 1677 KWH - Feb 08 1311 KWH

Mar 07 - 1322 KWH - Mar 08 1716 KWH took a beating in March!

Apr 07 1027 KWH - April 08 1003 KWH

May 08-800

June 08-606

July 08-580

Aug 08-733 - just out of curiousity, I included summer electric usage

So while natural gas consumption has gone up, electricity usage has dropped way down. Notice the huge drop in February. Also, I believe the date of the bill actually reflects usage for the previous month.

Why the change? Last year, we kept the old furnace at around 65 and relied upon portable electric heaters to heat the rooms we mainly used. This year, our reliance on electric heaters has dropped significantly (at least in the house). On top of that, I converted my garage into a full time office and despite heating that solely with electric heaters, my electric bill has fallen. Perhaps my garage was not as tough to heat as I previously thought.

I also imagine the furnace's blower uses a lot less electricity than my old furnace's blower. I've recently replaced several incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs so will see if that has a further impact on the electricity bill.

Stay tuned for my new water saving shower head report. This shower head saves water, delivers a full spray and doesn't cool the hot water as it delivers it to you.