high efficiency furnace rasie home value?

[apegs]

Hi there. I'm a first time home buyer and I came across a program in St.Paul that gives out no interest loans for energy reduction improvements for your home. I'm wondering if high efficiency furnaces raise the value of homes ?

[CAMAN]

Of course, but how much it goes up depends on what it's replacing. If you're only replacing a 10 year old furnace it will increase less than replacing a 50 or 100 year old furnace. It's best to approximate the savings per month of the new one compared to the old one and calculate the time it takes to get your money back from it including cost of installation.

If you don't plan on staying there long enough to get your money back from it, brand new high efficiency furnaces are always great selling points to highlight.

[BoxMN]

Can't say anything about value, but I can say that I put in a high eff. furnace about 5 or 6 years ago, with variable speed fan, and it has saved me $$ and made the house feel better - no hot/cold spots anymore. That right there is worth the price to me.

Our old furnace was just old (30 years), and old AC was broke ad needed that replaced, so it was worth it to me and I did both at same time with good stuff. (Also put old furnace in garage, so saved money there too from having to buy garage furnace... though now I have an "old" furnace out there, haha!) I would definitely use that program if I were you, and I planned to stay there for a bit. If I was going to move, I would not put in a new furnace if that one is still working. Good luck.

[CJH]

I am going to slightly differ with CAMAN. After going through the process recently on both accounts (new furnace and selling the house) it doesn't really add to the selling price. It may make it more attractive and help it sell faster though.

So it really depends on your circumstance. If you have an old oil burner that needs to be replaced, then have at it. If you have a newer furnace that works fine, I wouldn't spend the money. This of course depends on your budget, and I wouldn't stretch it to get something you probably won't get your money back out of.

[BobT]

Hi there. I'm a first time home buyer and I came across a program in St.Paul that gives out no interest loans for energy reduction improvements for your home. I'm wondering if high efficiency furnaces raise the value of homes ?

Would you have been willing to pay more for your home had the furnace already been installed and if so, how much more? Answer that question and you'll answer yours.

[shizzy]

I bought a house back in October. The houses that had newer furnace and hot water heater were higher on my list then those with ones 10+ years old. Weather or not it increased the value im not sure. the house I bought (80 years old) has a 3 year old boiler and two three year old hot water heaters.

[quijibo]

I bought my first house in Minneapolis, it was built in 1923. I put in a high efficiency furnace and it paid for itself in about 2 years. It was great not having to worry about the gas bill every month too. It will probably only make a difference in saleability if gas prices are spiking.

I also put one in our rental up north and it paid for itself in about 4 months and it makes a huge difference to the potential renters since electric heat seems to be pretty common up there. The heating bills went from $500 to $70 a month.

[Farmboy1]

IMHO a high efficiency furnace will not increase the value of the home. A newer furnace (not high eff) should help the house sell better, but I have a hard time believing that someone would make a decision based on the furnace efficiency.

Just an FYI. The difference between a 92% eff, and a 95% is 3% and about $1000. Do the math and see how long it takes to pay off the difference. In most instances, it will not be paid off before the lifecycle of the furnace.

Example: I spend $1000 (keep numbers round) to heat my house this winter. I saved $30 in gas bills. That means in just 30 years, I will pay off the extra cost. this does not factor in gov. incentives, but you get the jist.

[LightningBG]

I think a "newer" (under 10 years old) furnace will help in selling, but wont necessarily bring more money. But I don't think the efficiency will be a big factor. I couldn't even tell you how one knows if a furnace is 92 vs 95, etc?

[shizzy]

I think a "newer" (under 10 years old) furnace will help in selling, but wont necessarily bring more money. But I don't think the efficiency will be a big factor. I couldn't even tell you how one knows if a furnace is 92 vs 95, etc?

that was my thinking. if all the major appliances + roof and boiler were under 10 years old I saw it as a plus. all the rest is minor.

[BobT]

IMHO a high efficiency furnace will not increase the value of the home. A newer furnace (not high eff) should help the house sell better, but I have a hard time believing that someone would make a decision based on the furnace efficiency.

Just an FYI. The difference between a 92% eff, and a 95% is 3% and about $1000. Do the math and see how long it takes to pay off the difference. In most instances, it will not be paid off before the lifecycle of the furnace.

Example: I spend $1000 (keep numbers round) to heat my house this winter. I saved $30 in gas bills. That means in just 30 years, I will pay off the extra cost. this does not factor in gov. incentives, but you get the jist.

When I bought my home in 1991, the furnace was so old the serial number for that Lennox couldn’t be found in the documentation at the heating company in Alexandria that sold them. The technician estimated the furnace’s efficiency to be somewhere below 60%. I asked what it would cost to upgrade to a newer one and how long the increase in efficiency would take to pay for the installation. He told me that even though the efficiency of the new fuel oil forced air furnace was rated over 83% it would take most of the rest of my life to recoup the replacement cost on efficiency alone. But then at that time the price for home heating oil was somewhere around $.85 per gallon. The results could be somewhat different today. But aI thn Farmboy1 is right. A 3% increase wouldn't recoup the cost of installation before the furnace had to be replaced again.

[BoxMN]

But isn't a 92% eff furnace considered "high efficient"? I guess it all depends upon what you are comparing too My choice was a 92.5% compared to an 80(something)% and I went for the "high efficiency" model with variable speed. Maybe now that is not considered high eff anymore but I gotta say, the variable speed fan is nice, and so far (knock on wood) no issues after 6 or so years.

I think the age of appliances is like the size of the garage - it won't add (much) value to the list price, but it will certainly help sell it faster or be attractive to more people, which in my book is more money. But I'm no realtor, thats for sure! ha! Good luck.

[BobT]

I figure one should put himself in the buyer's shoes. Would the efficiency of the appliance matter that much? Probably not but the age will because now you're looking at not only buying it but having to spend more to replace the old worn out appliances. Not only is this a cost to consider but the inconvenience as well.

[dougger222]

Right now in this market a new furnace will more than like not raise the value much.

My rental house for example in Maplewood has been decreasing in value about $5-7K a year since 2007. Did do high eff. furnace and central a/c but it was like all the other stuff we put into the house, won't be getting it out for several years.