What is average cost of furence replacement in GTA ?

To find correct answer to average price of a new furnace in GTA, you would have to make some assumption even though some heating contractors try to doge the question when they are asked by home owners. The reality is that furnace unit by itself may not have much price difference , however, like buying any other products the feature that can make big difference in final price plus not all installation are exactly the same, so you can end-up with range of $2700 to $7000. For those who looking for average furnace (installed) I would say somewhere between $3500 and $4500.

As I mentioned the features can have big impact on the cost. Obviously, unit size on how much heat the furnace can produce per hour is big cost differentiator. Also efficiency level of unit can make it more expensive (higher efficiency level the more expensive). The option that can effect furnace prices the most is fan speed

Furnace size and price

It will come as no surprise that the bigger the house , the bigger should be the furnace. On the same note, smaller houses require the smaller the furnace.Furnaces are measured in b.t.u.’s (British Thermal Units ) that typically sell in increments of 20,000 btu’s. Each additional 20,000 btu’s costs somewhere in the $200 – $300 range. This tends to increase as the furnace gets larger but 90% of homes can be heated by less than 80,000 btu / hr.

I should also add that heating contractors are famous for recommending the oversize furnace. It is not difficult to understand the reason. One, they’re passing the cost on to the homeowner. Second, the only time the contractor gets in trouble is when the furnace can’t keep up with the cold – so they put in bigger furnaces. Third, – and this is a tricky one – the more oversized the furnace, the quicker it will fail! The hardest function on the life of a furnace is starting and stopping. The more the capacity of the furnace exceeds the requirements of the house, the shorter the heating cycle. The shorter the cycle, the more the stops and starts!

Getting the right size furnace will get you these 3 benefits

• Furnace less expensive (smaller size)
• Furnace has longer life (less starts and stops)
• Lower gas bills (better efficiency)

Efficiency and furnace cost

Overall, the difference in efficiencies between the most (97% AFUE)and the least efficient furnace (95% AFUE) is around 2% but can be stretched to as high as 4 ½% if you trying to purchase mid efficiency natural gas furnace. The cost will increase only around $200 for the same furnace with 2% more efficiency. As most homeowners realize, $200 in additional cost for lower gas bills over the life of your furnace (12 – 18 years) is an excellent investment. This is even more important when energy gets more expensive! Natural Gas prices have been very low, so the savings tend to be small (but worthwhile). If natural gas prices increase (and household rates have gone up almost 25% in the last 8 months) these savings multiply. So if a homeowner wants to protect themselves from increases in energy prices, one of the best ways to do it is to buy the most efficient furnace.

Furnace Fan Speed and Cost

The most simple furnaces are called single stage furnaces. When the thermostat calls for heat from the furnace, the furnace starts up and gives the house 100% of its capacity. It continues to do this until the thermostat is satisfied – when it shuts off. As you can imagine, the length of time that the furnace runs is quite a bit shorter in the spring and the fall than it is in the middle of winter. As we said in the size section, shorter runs equal lower efficiency and shorter life. What’s even worse is that the thermostat can only read the temperature in front of it, it has no idea how warm it is in other parts of the house. The furnace manufacturers recognized this and started playing around with different speeds and firing rates so when the furnace got the call for heat, it only produced a fraction of the heat for the first little while. If the thermostat was not satisfied after a short period of time, then the furnace would ramp up to full fan speed and firing rate to satisfy the thermostat. Although this feature can cost over $900, the gas savings are big in the fall and spring months and the home is much more comfortable all year round. This feature was so popular that the furnace manufacturers decided to even go one better – and developed what we call a modulating furnace. The furnace has the ability to modulate (adjust) the speed of the fan and the firing rate (based on the outside temperature) to produce just enough heat to keep the thermostat satisfied. What the homeowner gets then is a furnace that is running constantly but only using the energy it needs to keep the house constant. Living in this kind of environment is so comfortable (the house is a constant temperature during heating season) that once people live with a mod they are extremely reluctant to go to any reduced speed models. As you can appreciate, this kind of sophisticated technology costs something – around $600 for a similar sized furnace.

Consult experts upfront

If you are planning to replace your furnace please contract GTA Contractors so you can get tailored estimates for the service from our experts!