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Old 12-09-2013, 05:34 AM
 
737 posts, read 1,582,036 times
Reputation: 417

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So we have been using about 300cf a day to keep the house at 66 in these cold days...that is $21 a day. Our furnace is inefficient and it's only 9 years old. What could cause it to be this bad in efficiency?
We sealed the ducts and added insulation in the attic so its maxed out and it did NOTHING to help this problem.
Anyway,
If elec. is 10 cents a kw and propane is $7 a cubic foot.....

when we go to replace the propane furnace, what is the wiser choice? Is it the luck of the draw?
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Old 12-09-2013, 06:54 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
207 posts, read 463,516 times
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Is it in outdoor unit? They often can get a bit stuffed with junk due to leaves and tree-rodents being jerks. Check your jets, burner tubes, and forced draft fan to make sure you are getting good combustion, and check the heat exchange area to make sure that you are also getting good exchange to the air. 300cft per day is pretty darn crazy high unless you have a mansion built of stone or something.

A heat pump is a good solution seeing as it doesn't get too awful cold here and you don't have a natural gas hookup. Also if you are on a well system a water-sourced heat pump could be a godsend, as they are outrageously efficient now. I would just see if you can't have a small return well drilled so that the system can run on a semi-closed system and minimize water evaporation in our drought.
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Old 12-09-2013, 06:57 AM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,542,882 times
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jjjjjjane, are you in a neighborhood that is required to have propane 'systems' ? Maybe you can augment what is already in place with electric, but still keep the propane. NG is a relative bargain for those of us who have it, that's for sure.
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Old 12-09-2013, 08:06 AM
 
Location: Austin, TX
12,059 posts, read 13,880,864 times
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Heat pumps don't work in the weather we've been having, they don't produce enough heat and have to be supplimented.
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Old 12-09-2013, 08:19 AM
 
Location: Round Rock, Texas
13,447 posts, read 15,466,742 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach View Post
Heat pumps don't work in the weather we've been having, they don't produce enough heat and have to be supplimented.
I have an electric unit with a heat pump and it produces more than enough heat.
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Old 12-09-2013, 08:29 AM
 
Location: Avery Ranch, Austin, TX
8,977 posts, read 17,542,882 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by cBach View Post
Heat pumps don't work in the weather we've been having, they don't produce enough heat and have to be supplimented.
Quote:
Originally Posted by riaelise View Post
I have an electric unit with a heat pump and it produces more than enough heat.
In the same way our heat pump at the mountain house is 'backed up' by electric heat bars when the outside temps are too low(or mega heat is desired), I wonder if the propane could be the back-up to the heat pump. Heat pump does its thing while temps are above freezing...propane kicks in only when the temps drop below the critical level.
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Old 12-09-2013, 10:29 AM
 
737 posts, read 1,582,036 times
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Yes we have community propane.

So we had the furnaces looked at and they are fine. Ugh! They are 80% efficient and they are the basic model with no variable speed fan, just basic fan.

If we got a 95% efficient model, does that mean we use 15% less gas??
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Old 12-09-2013, 10:58 AM
 
Location: central Austin
7,228 posts, read 16,095,392 times
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Never have I been happier to have natural gas!!

Is is possible that your furnace isn't sized right for your large home? Not sure about propane but I have a house with half the sq footage that you do and I have two heating and two AC units.

Did you know that there are 95% efficient and 97% efficient propane furnaces too? Also do you not have sealed combustion? Perhaps this will help a litle:
How to Compare Propane Furnaces | Home Guides | SF Gate

FWIW, this is my 23rd winter in Austin and I can't remember another one that was so cold for so long in December! Jan/Feb sure but usually December is a beautiful month with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s. Your heating bills this year should be an outlier.
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