High or Mid efficiency?

Question

My furnace is on the fritz. The house is a rental and I will not be paying the utilities, my tenant will be. I am just trying to decide between a high and mid efficiency gas furnace. I can get the mid installed for 1000$ or the high istalled for 1500$. What are the prices normally? I know I'm getting a pretty good deal. So which would you choose? Thanks

1400 sq ft, 124 year old house. Doesn't heat very well. I also heard that when I refinance the apraisal will be about 4000$ higher if I have a high efficiency.

Answer 1

The way furnaces get from about 80% efficient (which now-a-days would be called mid efficiency) to 92 or more is by pulling even more heat out of the combustion and making it available for interior warmth. This is great in many respects but it has a couple of implications.

1) There is not enough heat left in the exhaust to rise up a conventional chimney. The solution is to put holes in your exterior walls and new plastic extra piping in combination with the furnaces exhaust fan so it can force the exhaust out. In some places this extra piping can become a significant part of the installation price.

2) This leaves your existing chimney with much less draw than it currently has. You might not need your existing chimney unless you have gas hot water. If you do, and you don't do high efficiency there also you might need to have a smaller diameter exhaust pipe installed inside your chimney to make sure the water heater has a proper draft. Again adding to the installation price.

3) In addition to exhaust heat there is also water produced by burning fuel. In a low to mid furnace the water rises as a vapor out the chimney. With high efficiency, the exhaust is so cool that the water is a liquid and need to go someplace. All the high efficiency furnaces I've seen need a hose running to a drain to allow this. I've seen older places that don't even have a floor drain nearby. This might not be a problem to you but its something to consider.

Last year when I replaced my furnace I went with High Efficiency. My decision was aided by manufacturer and local rebates for high efficiency. Still it wasn't an easy decision.

Hope this helps

Answer 2

Go for the mid range. You and or your tenant will not make up the difference of 500 over the life of the furnace. If you research this you find that this is a sad but true fact.

1000 sounds about right for a house. A tad high for a condo. Ask for a dented or scratched model, that's how I save on rentals. There are always some at the dealers so give a call.

Best of luck,

PS. The department of real estate has a blurb about a rampant scam going on with people being told they need a new furnace when they don't, be sure to get a second opinion unless you are sure that baby is dead. The main thing they said to look for was if the furnace still heated the house, but ran longer or louder and the owner was told they need a whole new one. So watch your back.

www.realtor.org

Answer 3

I talked with a repair person in my home about this last year, as I was thinking about going to high effeciency too. He told me not to do it as I also have a gas hot water heater, he claimed it wouldn't vent as well if I changed the furnace. Also look and see if your country offers any discounts for upgrading the effeciency of the furnace.

Answer 4

If you go with a high efficiency model you may qualify for a tax break. Check with your accountant and they can tell you more. Another thing to consider is if your tenant saves money on the fuel bill that you may be able to charge more rent.????

Answer 5

depends on the size of the home