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I would appreciate your help. I am a first time newbie home owner. I bought a 1952, 2,000 sq. ft. house, knowing that the gas furnace was at the end of its life expectancy.
Well, with winter only a few days away, "Murphy" has paid me a visit, and now the furnace has stopped working. A service man came today; the repair costs quoted to me for parts and labor/service call are just under $900. It seems to me that I should just get a new furnace. Would you hazard some guesses what you think would be a reasonable price for a new furnace plus labor and tax, etc?
I will probably call only two or three companies for estimates, and it would help to know whether or not they are asking a reasonable price.
I would appreciate your help. I am a first time newbie home owner. I bought a 1952, 2,000 sq. ft. house, knowing that the gas furnace was at the end of its life expectancy.
Well, with winter only a few days away, "Murphy" has paid me a visit, and now the furnace has stopped working. A service man came today; the repair costs quoted to me for parts and labor/service call are just under $900. It seems to me that I should just get a new furnace. Would you hazard some guesses what you think would be a reasonable price for a new furnace plus labor and tax, etc?
I will probably call only two or three companies for estimates, and it would help to know whether or not they are asking a reasonable price.
Thank you so very much for your help.
Lana
Lana,
Get replacement estimates and compare them to the repair.
If the repair is 1/4 of replacement, I would consider it a good down payment on a new unit.
A new unit will likely be efficient enough that you will save enough on energy, with more comfort, that it will help defray the costs to a considerable extent.
If the current unit is really old, and ductwork is beat up, the contractor may suggest replacing the ductwork too.
That adds cost, but will likely also increase efficiency and comfort.
At that price it sounds as if they would be replacing the heat exchanger, is that right? If you are going to stay in the house 4-5 years a new furnace would pay for itself easily in efficiency. I happen to know just the guy to call too; I will send you a message with that info...
Thank you both very much! DH has now commandeered the helm on this project, so right now, only Heaven knows how the story will end. I am guessing that we will be going the route of a new furnace; we bought this house with the intention of staying put for decades.
However, the question now is which road to take---replace furnace; replace furnace and air conditioner with heat pump; or replace furnace and air conditioner with heat pumps/geothermal stromboli with a branch of system to include the in ground swimming pool!! Things are rarely simple when DH gets involved.
I would not connect the home HVAC system to the swimming pool heating system. Although theoretically the pool could be the heat sump for the home system (heat the house in the winter by extracting heat from the pool water, and cooling the house in summer by transfering heat into the pool) you run a serious risk of not having a large enough heat sump.
Now, if you are installing a ground loop system for a new home heat pump, it would be great to use the same trenches to contain the loops for the pool heat pump.
The choice of installing a Heat Pump or Furnace should be decided by local utility rates and availability. If your home A/C system is quite old also, and you elect to go with a gas furnace for heat, it would be best to install a new A/C system at the same time. Or schedule the installer to come back in a few months (March?) to install the A/C just before it is needed as part of the initial contract. This will also serve to spread out your costs a little bit too.
I would not connect the home HVAC system to the swimming pool heating system. Although theoretically the pool could be the heat sump for the home system (heat the house in the winter by extracting heat from the pool water, and cooling the house in summer by transfering heat into the pool) you run a serious risk of not having a large enough heat sump.
I do not even pretend to understand how this works. But my parents have 2 large ponds on their property in ENC that they use in conjunction w/ their HVAC to heat and cool their home. It's been great for them. But they are a one level home and love using their wood burning fire place in the winter. Since switching to this system they have saved lots of money on their heating and cooling expenses. Not enough to pay for the ponds mind you.... but there is the tranqulity aspect that you can't put a dollar amount on. Not to mention large ponds are a good way to keep your neighbors off your property. Dad's theory... not mine.
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replace furnace and air conditioner with heat pumps/geothermal stromboli with a branch of system to include the in ground swimming pool!! Things are rarely simple when DH gets involved. 
Keep it simple....
Dad's theory... not mine.
