Regrets from buying high efficiency furnace?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some weird responses on here.

Our high efficiency furnace is 7 years old and we've never had an issue with it and we've not even had it maintained yearly (though I have had it checked).

It is quiet and has dramatically reduced our gas bill.

Some of the other comments about problems with energy efficient appliances are also odd. All appliances are more energy efficient than what they replace, usually dramatically so even for the baseline models.

CFL lightbulbs kind of sucked but thankfully have been replaced by higher quality and more efficient LED's - otherwise I've never had any problems with the more efficient appliances and devices I've purchased for our home.

because it's ONLY 7 years old. you think your machine will last 20 years? my "old" machine is 25 years old still going strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some weird responses on here.

Our high efficiency furnace is 7 years old and we've never had an issue with it and we've not even had it maintained yearly (though I have had it checked).

It is quiet and has dramatically reduced our gas bill.

Some of the other comments about problems with energy efficient appliances are also odd. All appliances are more energy efficient than what they replace, usually dramatically so even for the baseline models.

CFL lightbulbs kind of sucked but thankfully have been replaced by higher quality and more efficient LED's - otherwise I've never had any problems with the more efficient appliances and devices I've purchased for our home.

because it's ONLY 7 years old. you think your machine will last 20 years? my "old" machine is 25 years old still going strong.

I have no idea if it will last 20 years but the OP was implying there is some inherent problem with energy efficient furnaces and I responded that thus far I've had zero problems with mine.

[Anonymous]

no problems with mine either - maybe you got a lemon

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:no problems with mine either - maybe you got a lemon

Or bad installation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no problems with mine either - maybe you got a lemon

Or bad installation.

Also possible - when we had ours installed several companies I contacted for bids would not install them.

FWIW ours came with a 10 year warranty on all parts.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yup- delicate and high strung POS.

Yes, I feel the same way about my high efficiency furnace as I feel about my fiddle leaf fig plant.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no problems with mine either - maybe you got a lemon

Or bad installation.

Also possible - when we had ours installed several companies I contacted for bids would not install them.

FWIW ours came with a 10 year warranty on all parts.

They probably made less profit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:no problems with mine either - maybe you got a lemon

Or bad installation.

Also possible - when we had ours installed several companies I contacted for bids would not install them.

FWIW ours came with a 10 year warranty on all parts.

They probably made less profit.

Or your house set up. They have to direct vent out vs. chimney and that causes issues with the chimney that will need lined, especially if your water heater uses it.

[Anonymous]

I really dislike and am totally disappointed / disgusted with my new energy efficient furnace. Runs forever with such a low flame… basically cool / room temperature air flowing out of the registers. I have to turn my oven on to warm up. 😡😡😡

[Anonymous]

Our 95% efficient gas furnace is 13 years old and we've had zero issues with it.

It's quiet, heats the house well and cut our gas bill by about 40% after it was installed.

[Anonymous]

Our name-brand HE HVAC initially was not installed correctly and had repeated issues. So we hired a different HVAC contractor (not the installer) to look at it. Once the new HVAC guy found the mis-installed bits and corrected them (under mfg warranty, so no cost to us) it has been great. Best guess is that the installers really had not been trained how to install the latest best HE system properly.

Next time, I would buy just one-notch below the highest efficiency.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really dislike and am totally disappointed / disgusted with my new energy efficient furnace. Runs forever with such a low flame… basically cool / room temperature air flowing out of the registers. I have to turn my oven on to warm up. 😡😡😡

I dont know your specific situation but "running forever with a low flame" might actually be by design. Having longer run times is better as it is less wear and tear on your furnace. You also want the fan to be ON all time as it promotes better air flow and a more even feel for temperature in the house.

The "cool air from vents" is a common complaint, especially if you've moved from a gas furnace to a heat pump. The air might "feel" cooler but it isn't. The best way to verify is to check your thermostat. Is the room temperature reading the same as the set point? If so, your system is doing what its set to do. If you want it warmer, turn the set point a little higher and see how that affects your comfort. Don't worry about the specific number (72 vs 74, etc) adjust the set point to where you are comfortable.

All else fails, get a pro to look it over.

[Anonymous]

Just moved out of a house after nineteen years with a 95% efficient furnace. Zero complaints.

[Anonymous]

No different that owning a high performance car; less reliability and higher repair costs.

[Anonymous]

Our furnace died in 2020. When the new one was being installed, the installer called me into the back yard (where they were staging the new one and disposing of the old one) to point out that it was originally manufactured on 1958.

Sixty Two Years years old.

Try and imagine anything today lasting 6 decades.