Furnaces
Chances are, you're paying a lot more for natural gas than you should be. Your home might also have uneven temperatures from room to room, or maybe your furnace has a roar your neighbors can almost hear. If so, HouseSmart Heating and Air Conditioning installs new furnace models from Lennox, Goodman, and Amana that can help you with all of these problems.
Government rebates available on high efficiency furnaces
An ecoENERGY grant of $790 is available on a 94%+ efficient variable speed furnace.
Minimum efficiency raised to 90%
As of January 1st, 2010, all furnaces brought into Canada must be at least 90% efficient. These systems cost about $2000 more to install than the 80% efficient furnaces that used to be available. For most homeowners, the energy savings will make the extra cost worthwhile.
However, in some homes, the new venting and drainage required by 90% efficient systems can be excessively difficult to install. The installation costs can sometimes be several thousand dollars more than it was with an 80% furnace. We still have 80% furnaces in stock, but supply is limited and cannot be replaced. If you live in a home where a high efficiency furnace is difficult to install, now is the time to replace it.
New furnaces from HouseSmart Heating & Air Conditioning use up to 40% less natural gas than older models
Natural gas prices have more than tripled in the past 10 years (1), and many analysts are forecasting further price increases. Fortunately, the efficiency ratings of new furnaces have also been increasing. In 1995, the government raised the minimum required efficiency of new furnaces to 78%. Most furnaces installed before this time were only 60-70% efficient, and very old furnaces can be less than 50% efficient. A continuously burning pilot light can decrease these efficiencies by another 5%. New Lennox, Amana, and Goodman furnaces are 90% to 95% efficient. They do not have pilot lights and can reduce your heating costs by up to 40%.
These amounts were formerly posted on BC Hydro's web site, and are based on energy consumption for space heating in the average BC home. Some homes have much higher heating costs.
Since space heating accounts for about 60% of the average home’s energy cost (according to Natural Resources Canada’s Heating With Gas) these savings can be substantial, and a new furnace can pay for itself in as few as five years.
Variable speed DC motors: Save on electricity, too
Everyone knows that their furnace is their home’s main consumer of natural gas. But according to Natural Resources Canada, a furnace’s fan motor is in" many cases the largest consumer of electricity in the household." (3)
While most homes currently have furnaces with AC motors, some new furnaces have variable speed DC motors which only use about half as much electricity. If the fan is being run continuously, a variable speed DC motor will only use about $43 of electricity compared to $185 with a standard motor. If the fan is being run during heating only then consumption should be about $31 per year compared to $55 per year with a standard motor. (4)
Continuously running a variable speed fan will result in more even temperatures from room to room due to the continuous flow of air. Continuous airflow will also result in improved humidity and cleaner air from increased use of the filter. For more information on these motors see BC Hydro's vsm h.e.l.p. sheet. Having two burner stages can further reduce household temperature variances.
Two-stage furnaces for improved home comfort
Older furnaces only operate at full capacity, or “high-fire” when they come on. On moderately cool days, they wait until your home gets cooler than the thermostats set point, and then blast in hot air for a brief period of time until your home gets too hot. Most of the furnaces we now install are two-stage furnaces which can operate at a lower capacity, or “low-fire” mode, on milder days. The furnaces runs at a lower level more consistently with the fan circulating the air longer, resulting in more even temperatures over time and from room to room within your home. A two-stage furnace will also run quieter in the lower stage.
The Lennox G71P variable capacity furnace can create even more consistent temperatures by varying its capacity in 5% increments all the way from 40% to 100% capacity.
Our furnaces are quieter, too
The 94-95% efficient Lennox G61V and G71P are the quietest furnaces you can buy.
Warranties
Lennox Signature Series include a 20 year or lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger and a 10 year warranty on the other parts, Elite Series units include a 20 year or lifetime warranty on the heat exchanger and a 5 year warranty on the other parts, and Merit Series units include a 20 year warranty on the heat exchanger and a 5 year warranty on other parts.
How do new furnaces use so much less gas than older ones?
New 80% furnaces use less energy than older furnaces due to many design improvements, including
1) lack of a pilot light (hot-surface ignition is used instead)
2) closing off of the chimney when the burners are off- there is not always an opening for heat loss
3) a heat exchanger with more surface area enabling more exchange of heat
A high efficiency (90-95%) furnace achieves its rating by releasing the chimney gases at a lower temperature. In regular furnaces, the chimney gases leave the chimney at well over the boiling point of water so that they can rise quickly without rusting the heat exchanger and chimney pipe. In a high efficiency furnace, more heat is removed from these gases in a second stainless steel heat exchanger and a second fan then blows them outside in a plastic pipe.
Reduce your home’s greenhouse gas emissions and get a grant
According to the Environment Canada report Climate Change Plan for Canada (2), 28.7% of personal greenhouse gas emissions are from space heating, compared to 49.9% from transportation. Since there are more than twice as many vehicles as household furnace/ boilers, this means that the average furnace/boiler produces more ghg’s than the average vehicle. When you reduce the amount of natural gas you use to heat your home by a certain percentage, your ghg’s from heating should be reduced by about the same amount.
The federal governement is also rewarding homeowners who improve their home's energy efficiency with the ecoENERGY program. You can receive up to $790 off a high efficiency furnace. Heat pumps can reduce your greenhouse gas emissions by up to 90%, while also cutting your heating costs by up to 60% and providing air conditioning in the summer.
The HouseSmart Heating & Air Conditioning Difference
Shell Busey's HouseSmart Heating and Air Conditioning is your top choice for home heating and cooling installations. Why? Because we are determined to give homeowners what they expect from a company with Shell Busey's name on it: installations and service work which are performed to the highest standards.
Your system will be installed by experienced, factory-trained professionals. We invest in our people and pay superior wages to provide you with the best installation. Our technicians will respect your home using drop sheets and shoe covers.
The most important day in a heating system's life is the day it is installed. A proper installation is critical to achieving the longest, quietest life possible for your furnace.
Call 604-GOT HEAT (468-4328) for more information or to schedule a free quote on a furnace installation. Or use our online schedule quote form.
You can see 9 different furnaces in operation at our showroom at 12981 80th Ave in Surrey.
More Information
Natural Resources Canada's Heating With Gas guide
BC Hydro's brochure explaining the advantages of variable speed fan motors
Brochures for some of our most popular models
Lennox G71P 95% efficient variable speed variable capacity furnace
Lennox G61V 94-95% efficient variable speed two-stage furnace
Lennox G60V 80% efficient variable speed two-stage furnace
Lennox G60 80% efficient two-stage furnace
Amana AMV9 95-96% efficient variable speed two-stage furnace
Amana AMV8 80% efficient variable speed two-stage furnace
Sources
1) http://www.cegenergy.ca/bc/residential/market/index.html
2) http://lakehuron.on.ca/resources/Climate_Change_plan_for_Canada.pdf
3) http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/regulations/bulletin/gas-furnace-mar2007.cfm?text=N&printview=N
4) BC Hydro Variable Speed Motors h.e.l.p. sheet
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