Energy Upgrade California™ provides up to $4,500 in incentives to single-family homeowners for making select, energy-efficient upgrades with this “whole house” approach.
Before you buy a new furnace, see if you qualify for the Energy Savings Assistance Program. If you qualify, you may receive a new furnace and other energy-efficient appliances and services for free.
Learning how your home uses energy is the first step to saving. Start saving today by using our Home Energy Survey to understand your energy use.
You can save even more by using a programmable thermostat to adjust the temperature to energy-saving settings throughout the day.
Investing in space heating systems is an expensive and long-term decision so carefully consider your options. The first step is to determine whether (and where) your home loses heat through its building shell. The second step is to improve the efficiency of your existing heating system. When purchasing a new heating system, think about your climate, the size of your home, your budget, and local utility and fuel costs, and make sure you weigh the initial purchase price against the long-term costs to operate the system.
Furnaces and boilers are the most common types of heating systems. The main difference is that furnaces burn fuel to heat air that's distributed through ducts, while boilers burn fuel to heat water that's circulated to heat the air in the individual spaces. Various controls such as thermostats and valves turn the system on and off to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures. One of the main advantages of boilers is that it can also be used as your hot water supply source. However, boilers can be slow to warm up and, unlike ducted systems, can't filter air or ventilate your home. Furnaces may have the additional advantage of using the same air ducts as your central air conditioning.
The cost of a furnace or boiler depends on the size of the system and the installation requirements. You can expect to pay anywhere between $2,000 and $10,000, including installation, depending on the size of the system and installation requirements. Highly efficient models will cost more to purchase (and possibly install), but they'll cost less to operate in the long run.
Properly sized equipment and installation optimizes the benefits of new or modified heating systems. Oversized systems tend to turn on and off more frequently and accumulate moisture in the heat exchanger, which can damage the unit over time, while undersized systems won’t adequately heat the home. When requesting a size and installation quote, choose a contractor that follows ASHRAE and Air Conditioning Contractors of America guidelines. This will help make sure that climate, size, and orientation of the home, as well as heat loss from the building shell and occupant lifestyles are considered in the contractor’s calculations.
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