It’s been said that a furnace will work reliably for about 18 to 22 years if you have done regular maintenance to your machine. After that, you should consider a furnace replacement. Getting a new furnace sounds like it would be a huge headache.  And yet, this doesn’t need to be the case, especially since there are a large variety of different solutions that will cater to your family’s needs. The size of your home, scope of the installation, furnace location, duct modifications, and code upgrades will determine its the new furnace cost.  There are options that can dramatically improve operating costs, comfort, noise, and even reduce your carbon footprint.  A reliable HVAC company can work with you to come up with an affordable solution to your heating troubles.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that you cannot do your own homework. It’s important to know how much a new furnace will cost for you and your household, and there is plenty that you can do to determine an estimate of what you will need to spend to have the perfect heating system for your home.

What Kind Of Furnace Is Right For My Home?

The first thing you need to do if you are considering doing a new furnace installation is deciding what kind of furnace you want for your home. Most residential furnaces run on natural gas these days. To replace a gas furnace usually cost between $2,500 and $8,000 for an average home in the United States. There are several options available, some of which are better suited for some homes than others depending upon the features that you need such as: single stage, two stage, variable speed blower or Standard, or modulating heat output.  Once you and your furnace installation professional have chosen the type of furnace, you will need to discuss manufacturer/brand.  Some are engineered and manufactured to a higher standard with better customer warranties.  An experienced professional will make an honest recommendation as to what brand you should choose and give you all of the information you need to make the decision to best fit your home.

Size of the Home

One major determining factor when it comes to the cost of your new furnace is the size of your home. This can sometimes be difficult to calculate, and people tend to overestimate the amount of heat they really need in their homes. Installing a high-end gas furnace in a home that is between 1,800 and 2,600 square feet should cost you an average of $5,000. Smaller homes will cost less to heat, while anything larger will cost you more. Since the average American household is about 2,000 square feet, this is a pretty good indicator of how much you can expect to spend.

Size Of The Furnace

Now that you have chosen the type of furnace and its features you need to determine what size furnace you need.  The first is heat output, which is typically measured in British Thermal Units or BTUs. The average American household can usually be heated efficiently with a 60,000 BTU furnace. This will cost begin at $2500 to install. Larger and more powerful furnaces aren’t recommended for smaller homes. Not only will these be more expensive to run, but also they will hit their ideal temperatures too quickly and shut off, resulting in inconsistent comfort levels.  So it is important to choose the proper size to keep the overall efficiency of the unit.

Another thing to take into account is, what capacity furnace you need to heat your home? In order to determine the capacity of the furnace needed for your home a load calculation needs to be performed.  A furnace technician can quickly do a capacity test to see how much “push” you need for your home.  Don’t be intimidated by this process reliable HVAC professionals will be willing to spend the time with you to walk you through what they are doing and why they are making the recommendations for the new furnace you are purchasing.

Furnace Efficiency

The next thing to consider when it comes to furnaces is efficiency. Older furnaces are often rated as less than 80 percent efficient. This means that over 20 percent of the heat generated by them is lost, and lost heat means an unnecessarily larger heating bill. Meanwhile, newer models often have an efficiency rating of 80-98% percent or higher. This will depend on the brand, heat output and size of a furnace, but it’s best to go with the most efficient furnace that you can afford while keeping in mind that the higher the efficiency, the lower your utility billsEfficiency makes a big difference when choosing the right furnace. A less efficient new furnace may cost less to install, but your heating bills will be significantly higher. 

Other Factors

There may be other factors that will determine a new furnace cost. For example, you may need an air purifier system for your home if you or anybody in your family has problems with allergies. This could raise the price of furnace installation by as much as $1,500 if you want a really high-end model. Installing a humidifier system can also raise the cost of installation, although humidifiers tend to be much less expensive than purification systems. The average cost for a whole-home humidifier starts at $595.

Buying a new furnace is an important decision for you and your family with many factors affecting that decision: utility, manufacturers’ rebates, operating costs, efficiency, comfort, noise, and even your carbon footprint.  Most of the time if you pay attention to your energy bills and home comfort you will have a warning when your furnace is getting close to needing replaced.  Take the time to contact a trusted HVAC company who will provide you with all the information you need to replace your furnace.

If you are in the Denver metro area Smith & Willis Heating & Air Conditioning HVAC consultants will come to your home at your convenience to perform a load calculation to properly size your new system. We address all of your concerns and guarantee you will be satisfied with our recommendations. We offer many solutions to fit your needs and budget. Call for a free in home consultation on new equipment for your home.  Knowing all your options and which solution is best is what we do!

By Frank Prestwood

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