You were not kidding. That Home Site had some good information to get me started. My next step was to perform my own heat loss/gain calcs and plug everything into a spreadsheet. I took the high and low temp of my location for every day since 1950 and calculated how many BTU of heating and cooling would be needed each day (Heat loss/gain = (home constant) * dT where dT=temperature difference between the inside and outside). Using that information, I could determine how much each option would cost me based on my utility rates (careful with the rate tiers!). For each system, I found the AHRI ratings which allowed me to produce a crude output curve for each system. Finally, some systems are variable (energy use is somewhat linear) while others are 2-stage or on/off (stair step plot for energy usage). Merging all of that data together allowed me to determine which system would be the lowest cost option after X years. For our home, the Greenspeed HP became the cheapest option after 3.5 average years of operation. I did factor in consumables (filters, etc.) but not repair costs. Carrier has a 10yr warranty if you register the equipment through an authorized dealer.You will have one heck of a time researching this field.
Stick with Lennox. My guy sells trane and carrier too and doesn't recommend them. The high efficiency Elite series with variable speed blower motors are best. I just replaced my 20 year old furnace back in June. 90,000 btu's 96% efficient.
http://www.lennox.com/products/furnaces/EL296V/
About $4,600 installed.
Stick with Lennox. My guy sells trane and carrier too and doesn't recommend them. The high efficiency Elite series with variable speed blower motors are best. I just replaced my 20 year old furnace back in June. 90,000 btu's 96% efficient.
http://www.lennox.com/products/furnaces/EL296V/
About $4,600 installed.
Don't forget to check for tax breaks and rebates.
Paying more for an efficient furnace was a complete waste of money for me given my HP selection... see above. Obviously for different locales the math is completely different (type of home, how cold does it get, cost of gas, etc., etc.).
Yes, a VS fan motor (or at least a 2 stage) is critical. Continuous air circulation also helps with air quality (more filtering). I was pointing out that the furnace burner *can* be a separate decision. Some brands (Trane, etc.) only offer the best fan tech in their most expensive furnace. If you're rarely using the gas furnace then IMO the pricey variable gas burner is a waste (but good for Trane's bottom line).The best furnaces have two stage variable speed fan motor. They comtinue to periodically circulate the air w/o the furnace kicking on and maintaining a better, more even heat/humidity environment. To me, that is more important than pure efficiency. I just replaced my AC unit with their top of the line, perfectly synergistic with the furnace. Once again, variable speed fan motor. More even cooling, better humidity control and it's the most sear efficient. YMMV
Yes, a VS fan motor (or at least a 2 stage) is critical. Continuous air circulation also helps with air quality (more filtering). I was pointing out that the furnace burner *can* be a separate decision. Some brands (Trane, etc.) only offer the best fan tech in their most expensive furnace. If you're rarely using the gas furnace then IMO the pricey variable gas burner is a waste (but good for Trane's bottom line).
I imagine in NY you definitely need the gas heat during winter so it wasn't something you had to worry about. Where I live in Oregon it is very rare (few days a year) for the gas furnace to kick on to supplement the heat pump. Paying an extra $2k to go from 80 sear to 95+ sear (both units with VS fans) would give me a total savings of $5-$10 a year (not worth it ).
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