Furnace FAQ
- November 3, 2016
- Posted by: ATEL Air
- Category: Home Comfort
Every season, we get a lot of questions from our customers. Here are some of the most common ones.
How Much is a Furnace Tune Up?
We charge $149 for our full 25-point furnace tune up that’s one of the most comprehensive in the heating and cooling industry. If you subscribe to one of our maintenance plans, it costs only $129 – plus you get priority service.
How Soon Can Someone Come and Fix My Furnace?
If you’re a maintenance plan member, you can get service within 1 day – sometimes even just a few hours.
If you’re not a member, you get our first available appointment opening, which could be on the same day or it may be in the next few days. Please call us to find out:
Williamsburg: 613-535-2720
Kemptville: 613-258-2400
Cornwall: 613-937-0707
Brockville: 613-342-2338
Toll free: 613-535-2720
How Much for a New Furnace?
We’d love to give you an exact number but it will depend on the brand of furnace and the amount of work needed for a proper installation. The cost will range from $3,500 – $6,500 total but we will always quote you the full cost up front, including labour fees. When you finance, monthly costs for a new furnace range from $38 to $70 a month.
Some furnaces are more expensive because they are quieter and/or have more comfort control features. With some homes, the ductwork may be incorrectly sized, leaky, or have other issues, and may actually cause your furnace to fail before its time. When we do our assessment we will let you know if we recommend ductwork fixes as well.
How Do I Pay and Do You Have Any Payment Plans?
You can pay with Visa, Master Card, debit, cash or cheque. We also have a variety of financing and payment plans available with low monthly rates.
How Long Does a Furnace Last?
When we install your new furnace, you can expect it to last about 20 years, if it’s properly maintained. We’ve been around since 1949 so we have a long history of installations done right!
Unfortunately some cheaper contractors cut corners, especially on the ductwork, and we find some furnaces last only 10 years. We’ve seen situations where the furnace has failed right after the end of the warranty period.
Should I Repair or Replace My Furnace?
This will depend on a lot of things, including the age of the furnace, its overall condition, and the cost of repairs. There’s a certain cost level where it makes more sense to invest in a new furnace. This chart provides a nice comparison:
There’s also energy efficiency to consider. If your furnace is very old, you may be able to save a big percentage on energy bills with a more modern, high efficiency furnace.
Should I Just Get the Biggest, Most Powerful Furnace Available?
Absolutely not! It’s essential to correctly match the size of the furnace to the heating requirements of your home. This will depend on a lot of things like the size of your home, insulation level and quality, ceiling height, number and size of windows and how well they retain heat.
Even the amount of sunlight your home gets can play a role: the “hot car effect” (or passive solar gain) of southern or western exposure can give your heating system a helping hand.
What happens if your furnace is too big? It will be constantly turning on and off, which is not how they’re designed to work. If a furnace doesn’t run long enough to “get its juices going”, acidic water from the condensing flue gasses builds up in the combustion chamber instead of being vented up the chimney. As you can imagine, this eats through the metal, shortening the lifespan of your furnace.
Can You Give Me a Quiet Furnace?
Absolutely. Your furnace should be whisper-quiet, and so should your airflow. You shouldn’t have to turn up the TV whenever your furnace turns on. Often the problem is with the ductwork – when it’s not designed properly it’s not only noisy but it can effectively be fighting with your furnace.
We’ve installed furnaces that are so quiet that homeowners ask us if they’re on!
Can I Choose Where You Install My Furnace?
Technically, we can install your furnace anywhere, but we’ll want to make sure that your ductwork is big enough and doesn’t have any unnecessary twists and turns that compromise how well your furnace can work.
Moving your ductwork and gas supply can incur costs, but we are fully licensed as gas fitters and also in ductwork design and balancing. If you’re looking to maximize space in your basement, let us know and we can provide the costs. We also carry the Trance SV92, which is a smaller furnace that still delivers amazing efficiency and heating power.
Any Other Questions? Just Ask!
If you have questions that we don’t cover here, we’re more than happy to provide answers. We believe in educating and fully informing our customers, so feel free to ask for any information you need to make the best decision for your family.
You can call us by phone or use our quote form.
Williamsburg: 613-535-2720
Kemptville: 613-258-2400
Cornwall: 613-937-0707
Brockville: 613-342-2338
Toll free: 613-535-2720
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