We need a new furnace, but what do we need to know?

14 years ago

We bought our 1976 ranch in June 2007. Last summer our AC went down and we had some more coolant put in. There is a leak somewhere and they advised us that since the unit was so old, we would have to replace it sooner than later.

Tonight, when I walked into the house it was very warm. At first I thought that someone turned the heat up but it's at the same temp it usually is. I keep turning it down but it still is pumping out warm air. I'm going to wait til my husband comes home but here it is:

We need a new heating & cooling system. What do we need to know? I've been reading through the forum and a lot of this info is way over our heads. We had a Lennox dealer install a new heat pump at our rental unit last year and our renter seems happy with the system. These are the same people who put additional coolant in our current system and advised us we needed a new system. It's an old Day/Night Heat pump.

Our house is 2222 sq feet. So if we get quotes, what do we need to be looking for and what should we be asking? I don't want to get an oversized or undersized unit, I am leaning towards Lennox only because I got a more trusting feeling from them than I did the Trane salesman when they came out to quote me for my rental unit.

Also, is the tax credit still available for 2010? Please type really slow and break it down in simple terms for me so that I can understand it. Thanks! =)

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Comments (6)

tigerdunes
14 years ago
kitty

what is your general area/location?

you heat/cool exclusively with a heat pump/air handler system?

what size and age?

The fed govt tax credit goes through 2010.

post back.

IMO
goodbyekitty
Original Author
14 years ago
We live in central Washington State zone 6. We get freezing temperatures during the winter, sometimes -10. In the summers our temps can and do always soar to 100+.

The main living area faces south/southeast. Large sets of windows. The unit is always on for heating or cooling except for maybe one or two weeks during a season change where we can just throw open the windows or the deck door.

I don't see what size it is? But there is a couple of metal tags; one tag I can see it says 1/2 HP, the other tag is list of model #'s but none of them are marked. It looks to be the same unit that came with the house, so it's over 30 years old.

Oh, when my husband came home he shut the breakers off for a few seconds and then flipped them back on. Everything is back to normal for now. Nice to know about the tax credit. We plan on putting a little more money in this one.
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tigerdunes
14 years ago
kitty

what size home?

and just to be clear, this is a HP system with air handler or nat gas furnace with HP?

post back.

IMO
goodbyekitty
Original Author
14 years ago
It's a 2222 sq foot home and yes, it's heat pump system with an air handler. The furnace is in our laundry room.
garyg
14 years ago
First, the contractor needs to do a Manual J heat gain / loss calc to determine proper system sizing.

Depending on your utility rates (I think you have cheap electric in Washington State), you can get a heat pump for primary heating, and a gas furnace as auxiliary heat (back-up heat). The heat pump doubles as a central a/c unit for summertime cooling. This "dual-fuel" system also provides choices for you if the cost of one of the fuels (gas or electric) rises dramatically in the future. FYI: the gas furnace would be located inside the air handler if it is a forced-air system (no radiators or baseboards). You make it sound like the air handler and furnace are separate now.

If you have ductwork in the attic, it is critical that it is checked for leaks (and proper sizing as well).

I would recommend that you get several quotes and not just go with Mr Lennox. The more quotes you get, the more you see the range in pricing between contractors.

Good luck.
goodbyekitty
Original Author
14 years ago
Ok, I'm going to get about 3 quotes from different businesses and I'll start another post. Sounds like I need to present more info from the contractors. Thanks!

We need a new furnace, but what do we need to know?

Comments (6)

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We need a new furnace, but what do we need to know?

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