As your furnace ages, it loses its ability to keep up with demand. Efficiency plummets, and you find yourself putting more money into repairs than you would like. If this is your situation, it’s time to start looking into a furnace replacement.

You may feel overwhelmed with the number of choices before you, but buying a furnace doesn’t need to be complicated. Follow these steps to choose the perfect high-efficiency furnace for your home.

• Decide on your fuel: Most homeowners stick with the type of fuel that they’re already using. But this is the perfect time to change fuels if that’s been on your mind. You might want to go with a heat pump if you’ve been using gas. Or you might want to add solar. Some fuel-burning heating systems come with solar add-on options.
• Check fuel-efficiency ratings, and decide whether you want a medium-efficiency system or a high-efficiency system. Gas furnaces have annual fuel utilization efficiency ratings. Any furnace on the market today must have an AFUE of 78 percent, but a high-efficiency furnace could have an efficiency of nearly 100 percent. This means we’re wasting no fuel — or money. These high-efficiency furnaces cost more than medium-efficiency units, but they have a quicker payback.
• Meet with three contractors, and get estimates: Make sure you’re comparing apples to apples — that means you’re getting three estimates for the same kind of system. If one contractor recommends something different, ask why. Before you settle on a contractor, ask for references, licenses, insurance and bonding and professional affiliations.
• Size the equipment: Size is a huge factor in how much a furnace will cost. Smaller systems are less expensive, but you want to make sure your system can keep up with demand on even the coldest Colorado winter nights. The contractor you hire should use the standard methodology to size your system. This takes into account factors including  the size and orientation of your home, the number of windows, insulation and your family size.

For additional help buying a furnace, contact a Rheem Pro Partner Dealer in your part of Colorado or southern Wyoming. We have a staff of NATE-certified technicians who are experts in matching heating systems with the needs of Colorado and Wyoming homeowners.

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