Replacing an Aging Furnace May Have Advantages

Replacing an Aging Furnace May Have Advantages

Replacing an Aging Furnace May Have Advantages\

While casting about for ways to save on winter heating bills, homeowners might want to consider the long-term advantages of replacing aging furnaces.

With the price of natural gas predicted to top last year's rate by 50 percent, "the urgency is there now," according to Jim Caskey, service manager at Keeley & Frank Plumbing & Heating of Franklin.

"I'm amazed at how many really old heating systems there are in the area," Caskey said. "If a furnace is 40 years old, it may be only 50 to 60 percent efficient."

Caskey recently evaluated a furnace that was installed in 1969. If the owners replaced the unit with a high-efficiency model, "they could offset the rate increase and reduce their heating costs," Caskey said. "Here, the old furnaces are almost always bigger than they need to be. Now, we do load calculations to make sure we are installing the right furnace for the job."

"Ninety percent of the time, a replacement unit will probably be smaller (than the original) in terms of both size and BTUs," said Tim Coyne, territory manager for Lennox Industries, a manufacturer of furnaces. "It is not that they will get less heat, but they will get more for less."

"If the furnace is oversized, the house heats up quickly and then there is an off period. If it cycles on and off, that doesn't create a comfort condition," Coyne said. "If (the outside temperature) is down near zero, the furnace should be running nearly all the time. More run time keeps the air moving and is better for the furnace. It is not best for the furnace if it doesn't get to run through its full cycle," he added.

"With some of the very large homes around here, the gas bills must be outrageous," Coyne said. "The larger the (gas) bill, the quicker the return on the investment. You could replace all of the windows in your house and not save as much (on heating and cooling costs) as you would by installing a new furnace," he added

Posted on December 13, 2005 01:12 | Heating / Cooling
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