New Oil Furnace installation question


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Old 10-31-11, 05:59 PM
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New Oil Furnace installation question

Hi all,

First time posting on these forums, though I have lurked here for a while. Thanks for all the experience you share with us newbies

I'm receiving quotes this week for a new Oil Furnace, and through reading many of the threads in this forum it seems like the *most* import part of getting a new furnace, even more so than the equipment itself (provided you go with a reputable manufacturer), is the quality of the installation.

Are there any tips to ensuring a quality installation? I know that part of it is "feeling out" the contractor, and getting a good vibe on the quality of the work, but are there concrete questions I can ask?

Thanks,
Chris
 
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Old 10-31-11, 06:09 PM
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Check with friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. about whom they've had do similar work & how well satisfied they were. Once you have gotten a list of potential contractors, check with the local code officials & the BBB. Code officials probably won't tell you a lot but often you can read involuntary facial expressions when you mention a specific contractor.
 
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Old 11-01-11, 11:37 AM
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Grady, thanks for the response. That is a good suggestion, and I will do that in addition to cross-checking with local resources (angies list, consumers checkbook).

But now, after the last 3 quote visits with different contractors, I am beginning to ask the question on if it is cost-effective to consider a heat pump + oil furnace combination (3 suggested going that route - I'm not sure if it was genuine advice or them trying to make an extra buck). I am interested in looking into the longer-term savings on oil fuel costs to see if it makes $ sense to justify the significantly increased upfront costs (I plan to stay in my current house for at least 10 more years).

Do you know of any good calculators or aids to help do this sort of analysis? I've started a rough spreadsheet, but if there is something existing out there I could leverage, that would save time!

Thanks,
Chris
 
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Old 11-01-11, 02:26 PM
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I seriously doubt you'd ever recover the additional cost of adding a heat pump. If you were considering adding or replacing the A/C at the same time you replaced the oil fired furnace, substituting a heat pump for the straight A/C would be worth considering depending upon where you live.

Since you are used to the really warm air from an oil fired furnace, you will notice a BIG difference in the temperature of the air coming from a heat pump. It is much cooler. Heat pumps will heat the space but the air coming out of the registers isn't anywhere near the temperature of that coming out from an oil fired furnace.
 
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Old 11-01-11, 02:41 PM
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With the current cost of oil, I'm guessing that heat pumps provide economies in increasing parts of the country.

Where do you live, Chris? I don't suppose you have access to natural gas where you live?
 
 

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