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Right now is about the time when, if your furnace is getting old, it is going to fail in the middle of the coldest weekend of the winter when technicians don't want to work. This turns it into an emergency which costs more because it is an emergency and because it is on a weekend.

Before you get into this situation think about how old your furnace is and if you think you should probably be replacing it DO NOTHING until you have done an energy audit. I believe that if it is an emergency and you have to replace it on the spot you can do an Energy Audit after the fact. Unfortunately, I have tried to track down the source of this information and neither of the government departments involved with this programme can tell me where to find it. Perhaps you should check with your technician.

If you are lucky enough to be able to do your research in advance then if your furnace suddenly decides to quit when it is 20 below you do not have to buy just anything you will have already decided on the type of furnace you want to invest in. When you are researching furnaces you might want to also check the Energy Rebate given by the Federal and Provincial Governments as the rebate may help you decide which unit you wish to purchase.

There are various types of furnaces you can purchase, depending on where you live. When I lived in the country it was oil or propane neither of which are very reasonably priced. If, however, you live in a community where gas is available then that is a very good source of energy at a reasonable price. For this article we will deal with gas furnaces.

There are different types of gas furnaces you can buy, there is the mid efficiency unit which comes in around the $2,000.00 price level and there is the high efficiency unit which is about $3,000.00+

The energy efficiency of furnaces is measured by AFUE which is annual fuel utilization efficiency, the higher the number the more efficient the model.

If you purchase the $2,000.00 unit that is a mid efficiency unit and will have a rating of 78 – 82% , however if you purchase a high efficiency unit at $3,000.00 it will have a rating of 88 – 97% so you will get much more heat while using less energy. In other words the high efficiency unit will be cheaper to run.

If you see a furnace with the “Energy Star” it means that it is a very good choice as only the furnaces which are exceptional in the area of energy efficiency (90% or more) earn that label.

It is always a good idea to go for the most efficient model you can even if it costs $1,000.00 more at the start as you will recoup that in the amount of money you spend on gas.

To give you a very good example, when I bought a washing machine there was another one on sale for $100.00 less but I chose the more expensive machine. Within six months I had recouped my $100.00 and from then on I was running the machine cheaper than the one that was on sale. Although I am now talking about hydro it is a good example that it is not always advisable to go for the cheaper model and with energy costs constantly on the rise you may very well be cheaper purchasing the more expensive model. Do your math before you commit yourself.