furnace only?

$3-4K would be reasonable depending on mdl, bells and whistles, eff, and whether unit is tax credit qualified?

what size and eff are you replacing?

what are normal low winter temps for your area/climate?

you intend to keep or replace existing AC outside condenser?

post back.

IMO

Hi, TigerDunes,

Thank you for your response. I'm thrilled to see that we shouldn't be expecting a minimum of $10,000 to $15,000!!!

I posted at close to 1:30 a.m. Pacific Time, and I just got home from work about 7:30 p.m. so I'm just now getting online, after 8:00 p.m.

Yes, we're sort of thinking we'd replace the furnace only, keeping the outside AC condenser. We're not at all opposed to replacing the AC condenser, but it hasn't given us problems, so if it would be a huge increase in cost to replace it, we'd skip that, at least on this go-round. If it's not a huge increase in cost, we'd replace it along with the furnace.

Yes, we'd want a unit that's tax credit qualified.

I have no idea what size and efficiency we're replacing. I looked for the booklet/paperwork on it before I came upstairs, but I can't find it. Used to keep all of those things in a drawer in the kitchen, but I discovered tonight that my husband repurposed that drawer for wine accessories... and he cannot remember where he put all of the booklets/paperwork, although he states he didn't throw the stuff away.

I do know that the existing units (furnace and AC) have been sufficient to keep the house nice and warm in the winter and nice and chilled in the summer. There are just the two of us living here, and we both work full time, Monday through Friday. The set-back thermostat is completely programmed, both for summer and winter. The appropriate unit is programmed to come on approximately 30 minutes before I get up (takes me longer to get ready in the morning than it takes my Hubs), to warm/cool the house as necessary, and then it goes off (well, maintains a colder-in-the-winter or warmer-in-the-summer temperature) about 30 minutes before we leave for work, until about 30 minutes before we get home when it comes on again to again make the interior comfortable. Then it will cycle on/off as necessary throughout the evening until about 11:30 p.m. when it again shuts off and only comes on if it gets way too cold (winter) or way too warm (summer) overnight. On weekends it's programmed to not come on until about 90 minutes later than during the week, and will maintain the "morning temperature" throughout the day and evening and then shut off at 11:30 p.m.

As for "normal winter temperatures" here... gosh...

OK, I just Googled "normal winter temperatures for Sacramento, California," and one of the results had this to say:
"Sacramento, CA climate is warm during summer when temperatures tend to be in the 70's and cool during winter when temperatures tend to be in the 50's.

The warmest month of the year is July with an average maximum temperature of 93.80 degrees Fahrenheit, while the coldest month of the year is December with an average minimum temperature of 40.40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Temperature variations between night and day tend to be relatively big during summer with a difference that can reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and fairly limited during winter with an average difference of 16 degrees Fahrenheit.

The annual average precipitation at Sacramento is 19.87 Inches. Winter months tend to be wetter than summer months. The wettest month of the year is January with an average rainfall of 4.18 Inches."

Another site said this:
"The climate for Sacramento is Mediterranean with mild winters and dry summers. There is usually low humidity in the area. Light rainfall usually falls between December and February.
Sacramento average annual rainfall is 17.18 inches per year
The average winter temperature is 53.5 degrees F.
The average spring temperature is 64.0 degrees F.
The average summer temperature is 88.0 degrees F.
The average fall temperature is 72 degrees F."

It can, and does, get above 100 degrees in July and/or August. Every winter we probably have one or two nights where it gets down to the low 30-degree range.

But as long as the house is somewhere in the low to mid 70-degree range in the winter, and no more than mid 80-degree range in the summer, we'd be happy.

Does any of that help?

those are some mild winter temps. Your lucky.

Yes, I know. :-) The thing that's nice about the Sacramento area is that we see definite seasonal changes without undergoing severe weather.

Nonetheless, winter isn't fun when it doesn't get above 55 degrees inside the house.

lindsey

you need to provide size of existing furnace and outside AC condenser.

is the tax credit important to you?

how old is AC condenser?

post back with info and I can provide a few suggestions.

IMO

Sorry for the delay in getting back here...

I cannot find the paperwork on our system; and I have no idea what the size is of the existing furnace or AC condenser. Everything was brand new when the house was built in 1990. We are the original owners, and moved in at the end of September 1990. It's not a custom home -- it's a "tract home" (development has specific floorplans and and the houses have specific features/amenities, but there is semi-customization and upgrades allowed). I'm sure the builder didn't put in top-of-the-line stuff, but it certainly wasn't junk, either. And, as I said above, the current system has always been sufficient to keep the interior of the house very comfortable. We've never been cold in the winter or warm in the summer, with the exception of the few times that something minor has happened during the winter to cause the system to not put out heat (even though the air would still blow through the vents). Each time it was an easy, reasonably priced service call.

There are four floorplans in this development, and ours is the largest of the four. If room dimensions would help, let me know and I'll measure all of the rooms. Also, if this helps, here are two photos. The first shows the back of the house; and you can see the AC condenser -- covered with jasmine because this was taken in April and we hadn't trimmed the stuff because the AC wasn't being used. :-)

The yard was torn up because the pool "hole" had just been dug:

This second photo was taken in May of the same year, and the pool had been gunited and tiled, but it shows the condenser without all the growth. :-)

The window that the condenser is closest to is a kitchen window that's over the counter by the sink (you can tell that there's another window on the other side of that corner -- the sink is a corner sink). The condenser is about the same height as the kitchen counter. But, the bottom of the condenser is lower than the level of the deck, and the deck is level with the floor in the house. So, maybe the photo of the house and the size of the condenser will help???

Walk up to the condenser and see if you can spot the plate/sticker with all the numbers and specifications on it. Photograph this and post.

The plate with all the numbers and specifications is near the ground, on the side of the condenser near the house. I'll try to get a photo.