Furnaces and bills and bears "oh my"

[Wookie]

Well.. there weren't actually any bears.

After a whooping $430 enmax bill for a 1,400sf place I was wondering about getting a new furnace. Maybe time for a new boiler too?

Furnace is original, 1979
Boiler is 1994.

Hot water seems to go pretty quickly. Lasts maybe 5 mins.

Any suggestions, experiences, ideas, knowledge?

[Dan02]

I have old wood windows that leaked like crazy, covered them with that film product, this year my gas bill is way down, like 50%. My furnace is old and needs replacing but that'll have to wait, but make sure you keep your filter clean as that apparently helps efficiency.

[sclitheroe]

My bill was $520 for a similar sized place that's only a few years old, so don't feel too bad...

[Cheese]

Originally Posted by Wookie

Well.. there weren't actually any bears.

After a whooping $430 enmax bill for a 1,400sf place I was wondering about getting a new furnace. Maybe time for a new boiler too?

Furnace is original, 1979
Boiler is 1994.

Hot water seems to go pretty quickly. Lasts maybe 5 mins.

Any suggestions, experiences, ideas, knowledge?

Yep get a new high efficiency furnace and either get the Hot water tank cleaned out or buy a new one. HW tanks are efficient for about 10 years max...the Furnace is ancient in todays standards. Youll save yourself a ton of coin.

[Tiger]

Cheese is right, you'll save a ton. Old hot water tanks build up calcium carbonate in it and makes it harder for the heater to heat up the water. The Furnace maybe still works but is well past it's prime. In the winter time for the same size house I pay just over $200 at the highest for all utilities, I take a few precautions (CFL, etc.) but don't do anything out of the ordinary so it is not like my bill is abnormally low.

[ken0042]

Originally Posted by Wookie

After a whooping $430 enmax bill for a 1,400sf place I was wondering about getting a new furnace. Maybe time for a new boiler too?

Is that $430 for just the gas on your Enmax bill, or does that also include water, sewer and electricity?

[Wookie]

Originally Posted by Dan02

I have old wood windows that leaked like crazy, covered them with that film product, this year my gas bill is way down, like 50%. My furnace is old and needs replacing but that'll have to wait, but make sure you keep your filter clean as that apparently helps efficiency.

I also have old wood windows. What is this product you speak of?

Originally Posted by sclitheroe

My bill was $520 for a similar sized place that's only a few years old, so don't feel too bad...

Oh my!!

Originally Posted by Cheese

Yep get a new high efficiency furnace and either get the Hot water tank cleaned out or buy a new one. HW tanks are efficient for about 10 years max...the Furnace is ancient in todays standards. Youll save yourself a ton of coin.

Cleaned out? Any idea what that would cost? I got quoted $899 for a new one - so cleaning out would have to be worth... well.. the time and effort vs. a new one.

Originally Posted by Tiger

Cheese is right, you'll save a ton. Old hot water tanks build up calcium carbonate in it and makes it harder for the heater to heat up the water. The Furnace maybe still works but is well past it's prime. In the winter time for the same size house I pay just over $200 at the highest for all utilities, I take a few precautions (CFL, etc.) but don't do anything out of the ordinary so it is not like my bill is abnormally low.

Nice...

Originally Posted by ken0042

Is that $430 for just the gas on your Enmax bill, or does that also include water, sewer and electricity?

No, it was everything. It's not that bad.... But a large spike, and I hear of people with much lower bills so I wondered.

[Shazam]

$430 is nuts. Mine was $290, and that was because my new kid was born so we jacked up the heat to 73, and we kept the lights on all the time.

Oh, same sized house.

[Wookie]

And it's set to drop when I'm asleep and out of the house, I think 20 when I'm home, 15/16 when I'm away or asleep.

[FurnaceFace]

(another furnace thread, I have to contribute)

We had our furnace and water heater replaced in the spring. Prior to this we had Atco come in and do an efficiency audit. This audit identifies problem areas and also identifies which grants you can apply for.

We ended up getting a new Amana high efficiency furnace and a Rinnai tankless water heater.

Amana gets top reviews and has a solid reputation for a quality product.

The Rinnai was attractive to us because there is just two of us and the constant heating and reheating of the same water that sits in the tank wastes a lot of money. Also as the person in the house who showers second, I was tired or running out of hot water.

I've been happy with the products. The furnace guy wasn't someone I'd wholeheartedly recommend but the products are great. If you go this way, PM me and I can provide some tips.

[prarieboy]

Originally Posted by Wookie

Well.. there weren't actually any bears.

After a whooping $430 enmax bill for a 1,400sf place I was wondering about getting a new furnace. Maybe time for a new boiler too?

Furnace is original, 1979
Boiler is 1994.

Hot water seems to go pretty quickly. Lasts maybe 5 mins.

Any suggestions, experiences, ideas, knowledge?

If nothing else get inspected. My friends furnace of a similar age failed and started pumping Carbon Monoxide into the house while they slept.
A really bad scene, nearly killed the whole family. Luckily one of the kids got up and woke up the parents when he fell to the floor unconcious.

[Resolute 14]

I heart condo fees.

[Wookie]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I heart condo fees.

Why, those cost me $300 per month.

[dannyhurt]

if your from calgary, can give you the number of a good heating & air conditioning company if you want to see about replaceing the furnace.

[Locke]

Oh F***! BEARS! Where??

[csnarpy]

Action Furnace put our new HE furnace and AC in, great customer service and overall great product line.

http://www.actionfurnace.ca/

[Resolute 14]

Originally Posted by Wookie

Why, those cost me $300 per month.

Cause my bills are covered by the condo fees.

[JD]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

I heart condo fees.

Well that's a double-edged sword.

When I moved into my place 3.5 years ago the fees were reasonable (it was a newer development at the time). But because we're at the whim of renters and other types who don't give a crap, the fees have steadily risen over the years.

You have no control over the people who like to keep their place at 75 degrees or have 25 minute steaming-hot showers. But everyone pays for it.

And depending on your management company, you really don't know how well the boilers and other related mechanical equipment is maintained.

At least in a house you know who to blame and that you can improve the situation on your own when costs rise.

[Shazam]

Is that $300 every month? My Enmax bills are only really high for four months. Sometimes they're as low as $90 during the summer.

[GoinAllTheWay]

Are you sure it's your furnace or are you losing a massive amount of heat somewhere? A newer furnace will be more efficient but in the end, how much heat your home loses affects how often it runs. Tearing down all your drywall is certainly not the best answer but you can start by shrink wrapping older windows and making sure seals around doors are doing there job.

I live in an older condo and thanfully I only have 2 exterior walls but the furnace still runs quite often on really cold nights. I know in my place it has less to do with the furnance and more to do with the insulation in the walls. I'm sure if I were to start opening walls the insulation would be wafer thin and saggin in a lot of places.

New furnace is great, will save you some money, but the bottom line is if all that heat is escaping your house the furnace will still have to run a lot.