Furnace replacement

[Svartsengi]

Originally Posted by Twitchy15

What brands have you guys got and worked well / were reliable?

I have had a Lennox furnace for 10 years with no problems, My Mother has had a Lennox as well for over 20 years with no problems. Bought them both and had them installed by Arpi's.

[Fuzz]

Had a Trane XV95 for 10 years, never one issue. It's got the dual speed brushless blower so you can run it on circulation all the time, which is really nice in an old house. Keeps the basement warmer in the winter and upstairs cooler in the summer. My bills didn't actually change much from the original furnace. It burns less gas, but more electricity since I keep it running. But the house is way more comfortable.

[bagofpucks]

We’ve been happy with our daiken furnace and ac unit and definitely noticed the bills go down each month. The ac unit especially seems to be more efficient compared to the carrier we had in our old house.

[Ducay]

Have a pair of mid-eff Carriers that are going on 33 years. Seem to be working great still but I know its just a matter of time until they give up the ghost (knocks on wood furiously)

[sparky69]

Originally Posted by Svartsengi

If your Mom lives in NW Calgary or west of the city, Royal Mechanical Services in Cochrane is wonderful to deal with. I have had good experience whenever I called them

http://royalmechanicalservices.com

Can second them! ive had great service from them.

[jeffporfirio]

Originally Posted by Svartsengi

If your Mom lives in NW Calgary or west of the city, Royal Mechanical Services in Cochrane is wonderful to deal with. I have had good experience whenever I called them

http://royalmechanicalservices.com

Thanks for this recommendation. Our Rinnai crapped out this morning, called Williams, but they don't service them. Royal Mechanical was able to come out today to service it. It was a pleasure dealing with them, and fees were fair.

[bizaro86]

Originally Posted by FlameOn

I used Action Furnace before and they were top notch for service.

I had a pretty poor experience with them on a central AC install.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

We replaced 2 ~20 yr old furnaces this summer with Distinct Heating and Cooling. They were a great fit for us.

For those considering upgrades, we’ve shaved about 30% off total gas+electric bills in the 9 months since. Maybe it’s just weather. Still, much more than I expected and a nice consolation for cost.

[bagofpucks]

Just to close the loop on this...

If you are in an emergency situation for a new furnace install, the best we could do was an install the next day. One company thought they might be able to do it, but I kind of felt like they just were fishing to just give us a quote and install the next day anyways. We were able to keep the house between 14 and 16 degrees using 3 electric heaters in the basement and 3 more in the main floor (house is a bungalow).

[1qqaaz]

How often are you supposed to replace your furnace (or how often do they break down)? Internet says they last 20 years, but anecdotally, they seem to last 40.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by 1qqaaz

How often are you supposed to replace your furnace (or how often do they break down)? Internet says they last 20 years, but anecdotally, they seem to last 40.

I think it depends on your risk tolerance and situation. You don't want to be put in a situation where you are rushed in an HVAC situation. The two main concerns IMO would be no heat in a cold snap and the other is gas/carbon monoxide leaks. There's other considerations of course, but these would be my main two.

If you have an older furnace, I'd do yearly tuneup/proper maintenance to reduce surprises and go with the consensus of what several HVAC guys say relating to keep/replace the furnace in question.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Isn't a big issue for replacing furnaces is that with the mandated HE furnaces you now need to incurr extra expense to bore through the foundation for a side vent?

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Isn't a big issue for replacing furnaces is that with the mandated HE furnaces you now need to incurr extra expense to bore through the foundation for a side vent?

As I understand it, high efficiency furnaces may need additional venting and ducting that an older furnace does not. It would be part of the costs to consider with a new furnace including the labour/fees associated with the disposal of the old furnace but still probably relatively small vs the actual cost of the furnace unit itself.

The energy and cost savings with a new high efficiency furnace probably quickly makes those amounts negligible though.