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MN Renovator · 03-09-12, 09:17 PM

Getting a new furnace is great and all, especially if you have a cracked heat exchanger or your place ends up being sealed up well enough to need a 2-pipe install but the usual takeaway from having an energy audit and doing renovations to reducing usage is that you usually end up getting a smaller furnace installed.

If you had an energy audit and are doing what you should to reduce your heat loss, you better have a mighty big house for a 80 or 90k furnace. I have a house with fiberglass insulation and I could run a 40k 95% furnace and still be at 70 degrees inside when it's -40c or -40f outside and this is with 2200sq ft.

Fix the house first, then get a load calculation that factors your air infiltration and insulation after you've done your work and before you make a 20 year mistake on an oversized equipment purchase that won't be as efficient as it could be because its oversized and running short cycles.

03-09-12, 09:17 PM	#2
MN Renovator Less usage=Cheaper bills Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Minneapolis, MN Posts: 939 Thanks: 41 Thanked 116 Times in 90 Posts	Getting a new furnace is great and all, especially if you have a cracked heat exchanger or your place ends up being sealed up well enough to need a 2-pipe install but the usual takeaway from having an energy audit and doing renovations to reducing usage is that you usually end up getting a smaller furnace installed. If you had an energy audit and are doing what you should to reduce your heat loss, you better have a mighty big house for a 80 or 90k furnace. I have a house with fiberglass insulation and I could run a 40k 95% furnace and still be at 70 degrees inside when it's -40c or -40f outside and this is with 2200sq ft. Fix the house first, then get a load calculation that factors your air infiltration and insulation after you've done your work and before you make a 20 year mistake on an oversized equipment purchase that won't be as efficient as it could be because its oversized and running short cycles.