High Efficient Furnaces

[tinsmith]

Hey guys, I was just curious back on Jan 1 2008 in B.C all new construction had to have 92% or better furnaces installed'. Was just wondering what everybody else's codes were.
Jon

[cactassdupree]

What do you mean by 92%?? I'm in so. fl. so we don't ned heaters much. I haven't turned mine on at all this year. We do like our A/C's though. There isn't a code but it is to the home owners benefit to have the newer ones installed cause they are cheaper to run and the power company gives you a credit for the install..
I don't know how ya'll can stand the extreme cold!


By the way the difference between a great journeyman and one that's not so great is the ablity to fix those mistakes quickly.

[Bud]

We can't stand it...heat wave today of near 30 degrees The extreme cold cost plenty, 475.00 that was only for the past 35 days - yikes!

[tinsmith]

By 92%, I mean the efficiency rating of the gas being burnt. Bud it cost you $475 to heat your house for 35 days?

[Bud]

Originally Posted by tinsmith

By 92%, I mean the efficiency rating of the gas being burnt. Bud it cost you $475 to heat your house for 35 days?

35 days it cost me in Gas and Electric - Gas 297.45 / Electric 177.97 Ouch! I'm not sure how much of the electric is furnace use.

I have the Trane variable - highest effiicient furnace there was on the market 10 years ago. A modest 1600 sq.ft home to put everything in to perspective

[danski0224]

Ah, but was the furnace properly sized?

What is the insulation value of your walls and ceiling? Windows leaky? Do you have a 2 pipe vent system or just the exhaust?

How warm do you keep it inside?

If your ductwork is bad for airflow, that ECM motor will attempt to deliver the CFM the board is demanding through the feedback loop... resulting in higher amp draw and no savings compared to a PSC motor.

Look at your electric bills during the months with no furnace or AC usage to establish a rough baseline. A good part of the difference between that timeframe and winter is the cost to run the blower motor.

$.02

[Bud]

Yes, properly sized - A tad oversized, but better then onder saized and with the variable we're ok there. Bad insulation in several areas of the house is thew main issue.

Ductwork sized too properly and zoned for first and second floors by "yours truely"

We might remove the siding on the NW sides of the house this summer and add wrap - in the long run the effort will be worth it. Didn't have the extra cash 20 years ago do a more thorough job

you know "never enough time to do it right the first time, but always time to do it over"

[MattM]

The wrap helps some if you have a lot of wind, otherwise adding to the roof is usually the most cost effective addition you can make. Insulation investments are the best long term green solution people should make.