Would replacing a 20+ year old furnace save me on heating costs?

[bleedingheart]

I bought this house with this furnace. It is well over 20 years old. Still works but I am concerned with rising gas prices that it might be worth replacing, however I am not sure how much it will save me and perhaps it would be better to replace it in the spring so that I don't get a lousy deal on it..

[yellowdogintexas]

1. it could. A new one would have an energy star rating

and most likely be more efficient. When we replaced our A/C our bills went down and the house is much cooler. I live in Texas so this is a pretty good reference.

Gas, electric or other?

You might be better off to upgrade your insulation if possible.

You could also do what I do and keep your house cool, and wear more clothes.

Sleeping in a cold room is healthier anyway, add some more blankets, a cat or several or an electric bed warmer of some kind or other.

[leftofthedial]

2. newer ones are more efficient

you should also upgrade insulation and weatherproofing

[miss_kitty]

3. It could

but changing the filters regularly should help that too, if you can't splash out on a new heater right now.

[WCGreen]

4. Yea, that it would...

Newer furnaces are much more efficient...

I have a client who is HVAC.....

He told me the new AC units, for instance, are 50% more efficient than the ones made just ten years ago....

[Gregorian]

5. Double pane windows might be more important.

Even if a furnace is more efficient, that efficiency could get "lost" in the bigger number of heat being lost to something like windows. Single pane is only slightly better than no windows at all. But then plopping a furnace in is pretty cheap. A couple grand versus maybe five grand or more, depending on the house, and it's design of windows.