If you heat with fossil fuels such as heating oil, natural gas, or propane and the furnace in your home is more than 15 years old, it may make sense to replace it with a new energy efficient furnace even if your old furnace is still in good working order. As an initial matter, most older systems were only designed to have a 15 to 20 year service life so even if your system is working today, it is likely to start needing expensive furnace repairs soon.
More importantly, older furnaces are far less energy efficient than modern furnaces. Just like a fuel efficient car can save you money on gasoline, an energy efficient furnace can save you money on energy costs for heating oil, natural gas or propane while keeping your home warm and comfortable. In addition, by burning fewer fossil fuels you will be reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental harms.
Older gas and oil fired furnaces are typically only 50 percent to 65 percent efficient. That means that they convert about 50 percent to 65 percent of the fuel to home heating. The rest goes out the exhaust. Modern furnaces are at least 78 percent efficient. Conventional furnaces are typically 80 percent to 85 percent efficient and high efficiency furnaces can range from 90 to 97 percent efficient.
Higher efficiency means that furnace uses less energy to create the same amount of heat. Over the life of the furnace, these energy savings can add up to thousands of dollars which offsets the cost of the new furnace.
Your local HVAC contractor can help you choose and install a new energy efficient furnace in your home.
