What to look for
Consider the following when selecting a new furnace:
Proper Sizing
Make sure the heating capacity of the furnace is not too high for your home - many furnaces are substantially oversized. You can get an estimate of the furnace capacity you need in a number of ways. If EITHER (i) you have had an evaluation carried out on your house so that you can apply to a government grant scheme, OR (ii) you have reliable fuel consumption data for a full year, it is possible to calculate the heating capacity you require. Our consultant can run this calculation for you. Or you could hire an energy consultant / HVAC engineer / building physicist to estimate your heating requirement. Or ask your contractor do an accredited heat loss analysis. [Simply estimating on the basis of floor area can sometimes result in large errors.]
High Efficiency (preferably a condensing model)
The efficiency of new oil furnaces is measured by the seasonal energy utilization efficiency (SEUE), a measure of all-year-round performance. [For the technogeeks, the difference between this measure and the AFUE (the standard measure for gas furnaces) is that it includes an adjustment to take account of the pilot light if present).] The SEUE for a modern furnace could be anything from 76% to 96%. Efficiency used to be limited to about 78-82% AFUE, but the best modern units are "condensing", which means they include an extra heat exchanger to capture energy by condensing the water vapour given off as the fuel burns. Condensing furnaces normally achieve 90% SEUE/AFUE or higher. Given the limited number of models achieving this efficiency, our standards are somewhat lower than we would ideally like for oil-fired furnaces (see criteria here).
High Electrical Efficiency
A furnace can use a significant amount of electricity, mostly to power the fan motor. Variable speed fan motors are generally more efficient than standard ("PSC") motors and may save you hundreds of dollars per year. The approved models listed here all use high efficiency fan motors - if you are considering a different model, ask whether it has a variable speed brushless direct current motor.
Government Grants
Grants are available from government programmes for efficient heating systems from provincial (Energuide for Homes) and (in some cases) federal (ecoENERGY) programmes.
The situation at present is however somewhat complex due to the phasing out of the federal government programme. For details see this announcement.
If you had a pre-assessment carried out before 2010:Mar:29, but have not had a post-assessment, then the applicable grant details (federal plus provincial) are listed here.
Otherwise, you are entitled to provincial grant funds only, listed here
Is oil-fired heating your best option anyway?
For the same heat output, an efficient oil-fired system emits about 50% more carbon dioxide than an efficient natural gas fired system. For those who do not have a natural gas supply, another option would be a ground source heat pump.
