Which AC & which furnace?

11 years ago

We have an 18 year old furnace/ac and called local company for a quote before May 1, thinking we would get another 80% gas furnace. The quote for 95% was $2K more, but we are thinking of going that route. Would it be worth the extra cost in the long run?

1500 sq ft home with basement. Quotes are for the following:

Trane XR 13 AC + Trane XV 95 furnace $7100 vs.

Trane XR 13 AC + Trane XV 80 furnace $5056.

The 95 furnace includes a 3" chimney liner (and all labor, parts, etc. for 10 years).

We are heavy users of AC and were also thinking of going up to Trane XL 15iAC, but didn't get a quote of this with 95% furnace. Quote for this AC with the Trane XV80 furnace was $6220.

We also want a whole house generator, but may hold off on this. Generac 17KW $6900 (I requested the 17KW over the 14KW and it turned out it only increased the price by $400.)

If we want to stay with the 80% furnace, we have to move quickly. Any opinions?

Comments (6)

tigerdunes
11 years ago
2 1/2 ton condenser?

Your location?

I think one has to weigh the cost difference on the furnaces and how many years the payback would be.

For illustrative purposes only, if you spend $1K each heating season on nat gas, the est savings{{gwi:807}} should be around $150 assuming sizes are the same. You would need to determine whether that is worth it. And BTW, that price difference seems on the high side.

And with either the XV80 or XV95, you want a true two stage thermostat not one that controls the stages off a timer on the control board. If not going with the correct thermostat, you would be just as well off getting a single stage furnace with a high eff blower.

I also recommend a whole house filter media cabinet if you don't already ave one.

IMO

This post was edited by tigerdunes on Tue, Apr 9, 13 at 14:40
tigerdunes
11 years ago
BTW, what evap coil was quoted? You do no want a third party coil!

IMO
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oasisowner
Original Author
11 years ago
We are in NE Ohio and keep the thermostat at 70 degrees (daytime) in the winter. Gas bills have been low the last 2 years; highest was $190, but we have gone as high as $400 in previous years. We already have the whole house filter and will keep it. No idea on the condenser or evap coil.
tigerdunes
11 years ago
Find out about the evap coil model number and a true two stage thermostat. Lots of smoke and mirrors by some dealers on both issues.

New lineset included? What size condenser?

All of these mighty important!

IMO
stoveguyy
11 years ago
how common is power outage? oddly, utility was digging last winter and damaged elec line on corner and for safety issues, they also shut off gas. so we had nothing for 15 hrs. in january. so a backup generator would not have done anything for our gas furance with no gas
oasisowner
Original Author
11 years ago
Thanks, tigerdunes. Will check into this issue.

cavell - power outages are very common here. A strong storm can result in no power for 3 days. Our neighborhood is surrounded by many, many huge oak trees and it seems every time we have high winds, a branch falls across a line. DH is getting older and rolling out the portable generator and running power cords through the house is getting to be too much. Also, we have not had the water pump wiring re-done to run off the generator, so we also have no water during an outage.