Gas Furnaces
How to Choose the Right Furnace
Are you thinking about upgrading your furnace but not quite sure where to begin?
We understand. Furnaces are more efficient than ever, with a plethora of features designed to keep you comfortable. They come in different sizes and shapes, some more powerful than others. They also have different price points based on their efficiency ratings.
The thermostat is the brains of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. But it’s the furnace that provides all the muscle, teaming up with your ductwork to send warm air throughout your Washington home.
And always remember, a happy home is a warm one! It would only take a few cold days in a row with no indoor heat for all the pipes in your home to freeze.
What matters most is to pick the right furnace that fits your budget and the size of your home. Our team at Lifetime Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric has the knowledge and expertise to help you make that choice. We’re a trusted name in Everett, WA, and the surrounding areas for creating healthy homes. Give us a call today—we can schedule a free consultation to help with your next home improvement project.
Choosing the Right Furnace by Fuel Type
Your first decision is easy: choosing the fuel type.
The most common source is natural gas. Your local utility company supplies the fuel delivered to your home through an underground gas line. The price of natural gas is relatively stable, so you don’t have to worry about cost fluctuations. Plus, you never need to worry about storage.
- If you have access to a natural gas line, we strongly recommend a gas furnace. These furnaces have proven their value over the years for providing steady comfort on the coldest of days.
- Oil furnaces are a popular alternative in the United States, particularly in parts of the Northeast that do not have easy access to natural gas. These types of furnaces last longer than a gas furnace but do not operate as efficiently. Oil prices fluctuate more than natural gas prices, making it harder to gauge your monthly expenses. Plus, you will need a storage tank for the oil.
- Electric furnaces tend to last longer than gas furnaces and cost less to install. On the other hand, they are more expensive to operate and take longer to heat your home. Anyone living in a cold climate would enjoy more comfort with a gas or oil furnace.
Choosing the Right Furnace Speed
Furnaces run at different speeds. The operating speed you choose will impact your comfort, budget, and indoor air quality (IAQ).
Single-stage furnaces have just two settings, on or off. Your furnace switches on and continues to run to reach the desired temperature. Once it reaches the temperature, the furnace turns off. Single-stage furnaces are the most affordable models and easiest to install. But they are the least efficient and tend to create hot and cold spots in larger homes.
Two-stage furnaces run at full-speed and half-speed. This allows your furnace to heat your home more evenly, producing a more consistent temperature from room to room. In addition to producing better heating, the half-speed setting is much quieter.
Variable speed furnaces are the gold standard of the heating world. These models adjust their speeds to provide precise comfort. They run longer at slower speeds, improving efficiencies while lowering your energy bills. Because they do not frequently cycle on and off, these systems tend to have fewer breakdowns.
Variable speed furnaces are much more adept in maintaining your indoor air quality, catching harmful particles, and eliminating excess moisture that causes mold growth. Larger homes benefit tremendously from variable speed furnaces.
Choosing an Efficient Furnace
The AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating on your furnace indicates how much energy it converts. An energy-efficient furnace with an AFUE rating of 95 can convert 95 percent of the energy it consumes into heat.
The higher the AFUE rating, the more money you save on monthly utility bills. Energy-efficient furnaces emit fewer greenhouse gases and make less noise when they operate. If you want to reduce your home’s carbon footprint, the perfect place to start is with your heating and cooling equipment!
Contact Lifetime Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric for Furnace service by calling us at 425-200-4999 or book online now!
How Much Money Can a New Furnace Save You?
Our AFUE energy savings calculator can help determine how much you could save on your utility bills. Just enter your current unit’s AFUE value and compare it to a newer, more efficient system.
AFUE Energy Savings Calculator
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Customize to Your Home
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** Data from U.S. Energy Information Administration
*** Data from 2002 EPA study
** Data for Canadian cities from nrcan.gc.ca
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Furnace Installation or Replacement
Don’t invest in a quality HVAC system and then hire a substandard contractor to install it. You will never enjoy the full benefits of a system installed incorrectly.
At Lifetime Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric, we specialize in installing equipment the right way. We take our time to ensure everything is measured correctly. Our team will also conduct a thorough energy audit of your home to find additional ways to lower your energy use.
Be sure to ask about our convenient financing options designed to make it easy for you to create your dream home.
Furnace Repairs
Odd sounding noises, a spike in energy bills, or constant cycling—these signs indicate a problem with your furnace. Don’t wait for a minor issue to turn into a costly problem. Give us a call today if you detect a problem with your HVAC system. We promise never to replace a part unless necessary—or if we can demonstrate significant cost savings.
Furnace Maintenance
Want to get the most value from your HVAC system? Develop a preventative maintenance plan. Doing so can rejuvenate your equipment, increase your comfort, and lower your operating costs.
Give us a call today and ask about our customized Preventative Maintenance Plans tailored to fit your budget and needs. Enjoy peace of mind knowing a trusted professional is watching over your HVAC equipment.
Call Us Today
Our entire team at Lifetime Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric values the trust you placed in our company—we promise to work extra hard to keep your business. Let us install your next furnace. Give our Everett, WA, area office a call today for a free consultation. Call us at 425-200-4999 or request service online today.
Need Furnace Service?
Contact the experts at Lifetime Heating, Cooling, Plumbing & Electric.
Call us at 425-200-4999!
“Lifetime is always fantastic and have done a great job on installing and servicing my gas furnace, AC water heater and fireplace!! They are professional, thorough and have top notch customer service! Their prices are excellent and they have financing options for those larger projects. Tony was here today working on my furnace and fireplace and he was just the best and really funny too (smile)! I would highly recommend Lifetime as they stand behind their work…you cannot go wrong choosing them!”
“Hugo serviced/inspected my system and I would highly recommend him for any future needs. He is a timely, professional, and very methodical Service Technician, representative a great company.”
“The system lifetime installed was serviced in March of this year. It had a minor issue that the tech repaired. He also added a surge protector. He explained to my wife that we could save money by getting the maintenance agreement. She called me at work to have him explain it. NEVER did he say it was $30 a month to my wife or myself. Instead he made it sound like it was just $25 and a discount on the work he did. Now, we find out that they are charging our account $30 a month. If we want to cancel, we have to pay back the discount amount. We didn't get a copy of the invoice until today. It does not state what the monthly fee is. I will cancel this at 6 months and not owe a dime . I'd be willing to bet the tech gets a spiff for selling this. Hell of a way to do business. I'll never use Lifetime again”
“Let me start by saying, I don’t do reviews, so this is a first. The reason for this review is simple….we received (literally) the best service…ever. From the call with the pleasant and knowledgeable customer service person to the time a serviceman actually came out to look at our furnace was by the next morning. He found that our furnace needed replacing ( well, it was over 20 years old). He cslled his estimator and he was at our home within 2 hours and our furnace was in place by the next day. You talk about service…this was quality service!”
“My heater stopped working during this current cold spell and Tony came out, fixed it, and stayed until we knew it was going to start working again. I really appreciate the responsiveness and help from everyone I worked with during the "off time" hours 1/13.”
“Mr. Felix Campos arrived on time and fitted the gas plug within a few minutes of his arrival. He was very pleasant, polite and efficient.”
“Saul lead the installation with Felix and did a fantastic job. After 4 decades the old furnace site was a jumbled mess. A special thanks Saul for taking the time to get rid of this mess and seal all thru connections. Very professional and personable.”
“Brian came out to provide quote for new furnace and did a follow up phone call and visit to measure for installation. He was easy to work with, gave clear explanations and when there was a problem with the work order and install, he provided good follow up.
Nick and Jovani were our installers. Our work order was not quite right and Nick was quick to apologize and jumped in to figure it out. They added a much needed register to our bedroom and the installation was done professionally. Work order wrap-up was great as was clean-up from the job.
When our furnace closet door didn’t close right due to bigger size of new furnace (causing closet door to pop off its hinges), Nick came back out and provided a nice solution by making a new (custom) sheet metal face plate to our furnace which sits flat to furnace allowing door to now open /close with ease. Clever solution done on the spot!
In summary, despite a couple bumps in the road (human error on the work order – no fault of Brian’s or our installers Nick and Jovani), we now have a new gas furnace that is working great and with new register in our bedroom, the heat distribution in the house is now markedly improved! Would use this company again.”
“Excellent customer service on the phone setting up the appointment. Travis, the technician, was thorough, professional, and friendly. He provided prompt and knowledgeable service while performing maintenance on our gas furnace. I like that photos were provided and I trusted him when he pointed out an issue that should be watched for future possible repair/replacement but was currently fine.
All in all, a satisfactory experience hiring them to service our furnace. We’ll call them again for next time!”