We had repeated problems with both a new clothes washer and dishwasher and the tech went on a rant about how much more expensive is it to fix washers today because they have more technology (electronics) in them. That being said, most everything (unless you buy the absolute most basic options) is now designed to be more energy efficient - it's just a question of how many bells and whistles you get that makes it even more tech laden choice.

It isn't easy to correctly replace a regular furnace with a high-efficiency one, so you need a really good installer. They have to run the intake and exhaust pipes to an outside wall, while staying within manufacturer's specs AND satisfying you, the homeowner, appearance-wise and smell-wise. They have to provide for legal disposal of furnace condensate water, which unlike A/C condensate is produced during freezing weather. They may have to re-line your chimney if it was previously venting the water heater and furnace, because now it'll be venting only the water heater.

All that said, I'm happy with the high-efficiency furnace I got this year, and I was happy with the previous one from 1999. The efficiency gain is more than implied by the percent efficiency figures, because regular furnaces draw combustion air from inside the house (causing infiltration of cold air to replace it), while high-efficiency furnaces get their air directly through the intake pipe.

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CFL lightbulbs kind of sucked but thankfully have been replaced by higher quality and more efficient LED's - otherwise I've never had any problems with the more efficient appliances and devices I've purchased for our home.

We got a Lenox and love it. Had a 10 year old basic carrier that was horrible. Our coil wasn't replaced with the unit was and was leaking so we had to choose a bad system with a $2K coil or new one. We also insulated, new windows, insulated and drywalled the basement, and new doors and our bill is in half. We used Clem Heating and Cooling.

Anonymous wrote:My heating bill went down close to 50% (better insulation too) and I'm more comfortable in winter and summer. Haven't had any issues. I did a ton of research up front though for the specific system and installer.

What did you get, and who installed it?

My heating bill went down close to 50% (better insulation too) and I'm more comfortable in winter and summer. Haven't had any issues. I did a ton of research up front though for the specific system and installer.

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.

It’s fine when works right. Any high tech machines are not as reliable and costly to fix. Think German cars for example.

None. Our utility bills have gone down and the house is more comfortable. You may have gotten a dud. I wouldn't buy a fancy washer but we got a mid-range high efficiency furnace and very happy with it.

Yup- delicate and high strung POS.

I don't buy "high efficiency" anything. It usually means that the appliance uses less water or electricity or whatever it consumes and does a really shitty job of doing whatever it was supposed to do. Washing machines are a perfect example. It's great - uses less water and less electricity, but guess what? It doesn't really do a very good job of washing clothes!

We have one of these that was already installed in the house we bought. Our HVAC guy says it will be $$$ to fix it when it breaks. I wish it were a regular unit.

What is a high efficiency furnace?

Im sorry for you. High efficiency stuff is a joint scam of both the govt and the mfgs. You pay like hell up front, the performance sucks, routine maintenance is expensive, and of course you cry when it breaks. Im a home builder and always steer away innocent homeowners away from high efficiency hvac systems.

We bought into the hype years ago and have major regrets. it has to be repaired way more often than our old one and we already get it serviced yearly and change the filter on a regular basis. Anyone else?