On Apr 3, 8:34*am, lanman wrote:
On Thu, 03 Apr 2008 07:54:44 -0400, Jim Elbrecht
wrote:

lanman wrote:

-snip-
That's a good point. All things being equal, what is the cost
difference in the monthly bill for an 83% efficient furnace vs. a 92%
efficient furnace?

I'm probably missing a step- but roughly 9%.

Jim

LOL.

Is it really that straightforward, e.g., a $100 bill would be $91 with
the better furnace?

Is it really that straightforward, e.g., a $100 bill would be $91
with the better furnace?

You have to consider TCO - Total Cost of Ownership.

Even if it was as easy as $91 vs $100, if you paid more for the higher
efficiency furnace, you have to factor in your payback period at,
let's say, $9 a month. The service calls and parts might be more
expensive also, so you need to look into the MTBF - Mean Time Between
Failure - numbers and average repair costs. In many cases, the more
complex a unit is, the higher the cost to maintain (or repair) it.

Since it's a rental, you have some other things to consider...

If the tenants pay for the heat, then you'll never see the payback for
the more efficient furnace, but you will be responsible for the
(possibly) higher upfront and on-going maintenance costs.

Just some things to factor in...