The time will come when your furnace needs to be repaired. You may wonder if you should spend the money to fix it or if the time has come for a Furnace replacement. When this time arrives, there are three factors you need to consider: the efficiency of the current unit, fuel costs, and how much energy your home requires to maintain a temperature of 65 degrees indoors. With this information, it will be easier to determine if a Furnace replacement is needed or if you should repair the one you currently have.
Fuel efficiency plays a big role in terms of furnace operating costs. If you currently have a furnace with an 80 percent efficiency rating and you upgrade to one with a 97 percent efficiency rating, you can expect to save 20 percent on your heating bills. Do some calculations to see how long it will take to recoup the cost of the new furnace.
An easy way to do this is to add up your heating bills for the previous year. Multiply that by 20 percent and then divide that into the cost of the new system. This tells you how many years it will take to get back the money you invested in the new system.
Fuel costs fluctuate based on a variety of factors. Supply and demand plays a role in this as do natural disasters. Of the three factors, this one tends to be the biggest unknown. The thing you’ll wish to compare is the price of this fuel as compared to others.
Is natural gas going up in cost while propane is dropping steadily? If this is the case, you may wish to purchase a propane furnace. Make sure to look at historical trends as fuel prices do change regularly. You need an idea of what they have done in the past when predicting what they will do in the future.
Heating load is the least of the issues. The reason for this is you can reduce your heating load without replacing the furnace. Ask the energy provider to do an audit of the home. This audit will shows ways to reduce the heating load so you can save without replacing the furnace.
