Home furnaces - any experiences?

[phoenix2020]

Got a home in the midwest, about 33 years old, in need of a new furnace so I thought I'd check in several various sources whether people have advice or experience!

Details: home is fairly large (4400sqft) with basement, 1st and 2nd floors. Original builder put in two furnaces, one ducted to the basement and first floor, the second to the second floor. Both were installed at the time the house was built and therefore are 30+ years old. During our decade-plus ownership, both units have been problem-free until recently; one has stopped working with failed electronics and a blown fan motor.

I'm thinking of replacing both units given their age, although one is working fine. Near as I can tell these were 80% efficiency units. I'd probably put in condenser units for higher efficiency. I did my own heat load calculation that matched a heat load calculation done by one of the companies I got a quote from so I'm comfortable on the sizing front.

Some of the challenges:
- finding quality shops to do the work--it's shocking the number of shops that are 100% reviewed on Google but can't break 2.3 stars on Yelp with horror stories galore
- nearly every shop in the metro area only installs one brand that they prefer, so it's difficult to get competitive quotes
- a couple of shops have recommended replacing the AC at the same time. I'm much less inclined to do this, but not sure. The home also has two AC units; one is original and amazingly seems to be running absolutely fine even today; the other was installed by the prior owners just before we bought the home so it's not much more than 10 years old, yet we've had to have it serviced for various parts failures three times
- there are some things I want to explore e.g. putting in some surge protection, smart thermostats for the home etc. and I'm more inclined to sort these myself than rely on the shop, but I'm (a) curious what people have done and (b) are there other "extras" or "accessories" I should be thinking about.

Any general experiences would be welcomed!

 

[soylentgreen]

Great for getting rid of unwanted bodies.

 

[aociswundumho]

Stay with 80+. Don't go 90 because they are so complex that one service call will eliminate any fuel savings.





Warm air furnaces are the easiest heating systems to replace. If you are handy at all consider doing it yourself and you will save thousands. I just did this one a little while ago and it was a piece of cake.

 

[Integrityrespec]

Got a home in the midwest, about 33 years old, in need of a new furnace so I thought I'd check in several various sources whether people have advice or experience!

Details: home is fairly large (4400sqft) with basement, 1st and 2nd floors. Original builder put in two furnaces, one ducted to the basement and first floor, the second to the second floor. Both were installed at the time the house was built and therefore are 30+ years old. During our decade-plus ownership, both units have been problem-free until recently; one has stopped working with failed electronics and a blown fan motor.

I'm thinking of replacing both units given their age, although one is working fine. Near as I can tell these were 80% efficiency units. I'd probably put in condenser units for higher efficiency. I did my own heat load calculation that matched a heat load calculation done by one of the companies I got a quote from so I'm comfortable on the sizing front.

Some of the challenges:
- finding quality shops to do the work--it's shocking the number of shops that are 100% reviewed on Google but can't break 2.3 stars on Yelp with horror stories galore
- nearly every shop in the metro area only installs one brand that they prefer, so it's difficult to get competitive quotes
- a couple of shops have recommended replacing the AC at the same time. I'm much less inclined to do this, but not sure. The home also has two AC units; one is original and amazingly seems to be running absolutely fine even today; the other was installed by the prior owners just before we bought the home so it's not much more than 10 years old, yet we've had to have it serviced for various parts failures three times
- there are some things I want to explore e.g. putting in some surge protection, smart thermostats for the home etc. and I'm more inclined to sort these myself than rely on the shop, but I'm (a) curious what people have done and (b) are there other "extras" or "accessories" I should be thinking about.

Any general experiences would be welcomed!

If you got 33 years of service from your Heat/AC units you have been blessed. I just replaced both a few weeks ago. They were 17 years old and the service techs told me 10-15 is sort of the standard but he sees ones lasting 20+ from time to time. Same story here as yours, they suggested I might want to replace both when my heater unit went out. It was shot and had to get replaced. Replacing both at the same time would save me a few thousand as opposed to waiting on my AC to go out and then replacing it separately. I opted to do it all at once. Oddly within a week the AC unit developed a leak and they had to bring me a second one. All good now. Best I can say is get reviews on the folks to do your work. I was lucky in that the company I use was at one time owned by friends and we had a service contract with them for 11 years. They were always finding ways to help out on service and and pricing. They sold out to another group a few years ago and I continued the service contract and continued to get great service and pricing. I know a lot of the people that work for them so trust is pretty high. I researched the brand of Heat/AC they install, it was fine, about like most as far as performance. The only regret I had just replaced the capacitor on my outdoor unit about 5 months ago, which I had that cash back, LOL.
We did step up to a slightly larger unit and being new it had a few pluses in comparison to the old one and was more efficient. They offered ones with as many as 65 speeds and I thought that was over kill so we went middle of the road. So far working great, hopefully I get another 17 years out of this one.
Good luck. Let common sense be your ultimate guide after doing your research.

 

[CANON]

Replacing the thirty year old A/C may not be a bad idea, it's likely solidly built but servicing it and getting parts becomes a hassle when it does eventually break. The refrigerant is likely R22 which was phased out, so if there is a leak the cost of repair (or retrofit) will be prohibitive. If you can get a deal replacing both at the same time, I would certainly think about it.

Depending on fuel you have to use, replacing a furnace with a heatpump may make financial sense, especially if doing A/C at the same time.

When the heat exchanger in my furnace fails, I am going to install a combination water heater and hot water coil in the existing furnace, and will go with a heatpump when the A/C is replaced. House temperature will be much more consistent without the big temperature swings caused by the higher temperatures in a gas fired burner, and will cost less to run in the long term as long as energy pricing doesn't make a drastic U turn.

Any furnaces that have ECM motors in them will offer much better comfort and efficiency, but those are the ones that cost crazy amounts to repair out of warranty. Multi-stage or communicating gas valves can also be expensive.

I have a 93% furnace and just looked up cost of the burner motor I'll have to replace this winter, $400 CAD, but would be $200 US for you ( US being a bigger market, we get hosed on pricing up here). You will have to install different venting if going to a condensing furnace which will add cost to a new installation, but going to a higher efficiency furnace without all expensive motors and valves makes sense compared to a 80% efficiency furnace.

 

[ttwtt78640]

Consider replacing the aged HVAC units with heat pumps. By doing so you’ll have two (newer) units instead of four (older) units to deal with.

 

[Lord Tammerlain]

Great for getting rid of unwanted bodies.

Unfortunately new ones for home use don't give you that opportunity

 

[Minerva]

I used to work the HVAC trade.

A budget system installed by top flight techs will outperform a high end system tossed in by second stringers.

IMHO...
Carrier condensing furnaces are top line. The tough part is finding the right crew. You may be able to contact Carrier directly and find a company they suggest. Likely Carrier will not suggest a crew with high failures.
Another top tier brand is Trane.
Lennox is pretty decent as well.
York is good, they also make Coleman, which I do not care for.

A good budget line is Bryant. I have had real good service from their product, they just seem to be a bit louder when operating.

Have your rep make sure your ducts are sized properly for the area being serviced and the size of the unit. Ducts are the most frequently overlooked item. They can collapse, rot out, fill with lint..yada..yada.

One thing we did was have our windows tinted. Did not cost too much and made such a difference in solar gain. The house plants suffer though.