request for proposals on new furnace

[yesthattom]

Here’s what I’m giving to the 3 vendors that are making proposals. Input welcome!


Contact info:
(name and address, phone)

Current situation:

Heating: Oil furnace, 10+ years old (tank is 2 years old)


What we’re looking for:

The least expensive way to heat this carriage house for the next 20 years (total cost of installation plus 20 years of fuel cost).

We’re accepting bids for either:
A. Oil to gas conversion
B. Replacement of the oil furnace


Requirements:

1. Furnace: correctly sized, high efficiency. (AFUE of 90% or higher)
2. (if oil-to-gas conversion) Oil tank removal
3. Insulation of duct between furnace and house
4. Programmable thermostat (7 days with 4 settings per day, large display)
5. Recommendations for improving furnace area (would better windows/door improve efficiency?)


Note: An energy audit is being performed on March 3rd. Copies of the audit will be available.

Bids:

We will be selecting bids based on the best total cost of ownership (TCO) over 20 years, with preference to vendor that can complete installation in early march.

Bids should be itemized.

Vendors are encouraged to submit multiple bids (one estimate for a “budget” system, of high reliability, but low capital cost; and another bid for a high efficiency furnace).

Submit bids:
* email: xxxx
* fax: yyyy
* mail: zzzzzzzz

Comments

[ckd]

Carrier has a "hybrid heat" system that combines a high efficiency furnace with a heat pump. If you want (and don't yet have) central AC, or have central AC but want/need to replace your compressor too, that might be worth investigating. The idea is that with a really smart thermostat, it can use the heat pump to maintain temperature in the house during milder weather, and crank up the furnace when it's colder instead of using the traditional heat pump backup of (usually expensive) electric heat.

[arkham1010.livejournal.com]

is your oil tank above or below ground (buried).

If its buried, you are better off having it abandoned rather than dug up. Abandoned means they drain it totaly, then fill it in with sand or some other inert material.

Otherwise, if they start digging and find that the tank was seeping even a small amount of oil, they need to get the EPA involved, and you will be facing a $20,000+ task of soil cleaning and replacement, plus having to pay for studies to see if oil seeped into the water.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

it is above ground

[whc.livejournal.com]

Sounds like a reasonable RFP.

The requirement for AFUE of 90% or higher will rule out most oil furnaces, so it will be interesting to see if anyone suggests oil.

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

Turns out the 90% requirement means I need to be able to drain the water somewhere, and that's not going to be possible due to where the furnace is. I'm going to ask for a proposal to run a pipe from the furnace all the way to the nearby kitchen sink drain, but that could be more expensive than the rest of the operation.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

A condensate pump is about $100 or less, and a pro can set it up so the water can be piped directly outdoors. Essentially, your house will spit into the garden every hour or so. *ptui!*

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

I was told that it would freeze and back up.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

I call BS on that. The house I'm in now has been that way for 15 years without a problem. What part would freeze? The water goes UP to the exit point. Any excess runs back down. Nothing to freeze.

How does this person who told you this think sumps work in the winter?

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

I've now had 2 vendors tell me this.

The carriage house has an attached shed in the back. The furnace is in that shed, which means it is practically outside.

The vendor I talked to today said he could run it into the house and have it drain into the sink. The problem is that he can't connect to the drain because that would be a code violation. He'd have to have the hose dangling into the sink. When pressed, he said he doesn't understand the difference but he knows the neater way is against code.

[docstrange.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Sorry for the slow reply. Ah, shed. I see. Well, I guess the question is going to be, "how cold does it get INSIDE the shed?" The only place the water would freeze would be inside the condensate pump, since the tube would clear outbound, then the excess drop back down. Here is the most common type/brand of these sorts of pump.

If your drain isn't sloped consistently, it'll freeze in that, too, so if they're worried about even a drain, then, yeah, no go. Bummer, because high efficiency furnaces rock.

Maybe you can hold out for one of these? [evil grin]

HE furnace with a condensate pump is a pretty common install style here (and it tends to be colder here than by you). But our basement doesn't get much lower than 52 or so in the worst of the winter, so we don't have that worry (though I am sure the floor is colder, it's still never freezing).

[yesthattom.livejournal.com]

P.S. there is no slop sink or anything in the house to drain into.