Electric furnace cheaper than a propane furnace these days?

[hvac1000]

I would make fixing the insulation under your home a top priority. You will spend many$$$$$ due to heat loss.

[plumducky]

I would make fixing the insulation under your home a top priority. You will spend many$$$$$ due to heat loss.

I know hvac, but I'm afraid that's not possible for this winter.

[hvac1000]

I understand. I would not go any larger on a furnace than what you have now. most homes have a furnace just a bit to large to start with so you should not add any more BTU's than you have now.

If you really feel you need a bigger one then I would make sure the duct work will handle the extra BTU. I would also make sure that when you do fix the insulation to have the serviceman disconnect one of the extra bank of heaters because you will not need them all when the insulation is fixed.

There are many reasons for my statement above. Example I do not know if you have demand electric meters in your area. If you do and the bigger furnace comes on full blast it will set a higher demand and the multiplier will cost more $$. You have to make sure the duct work is big enough to handel the extra BTU. If not the furnace may shut down on high safety limit. Have your heat company check this out before they give you a bid on replacement. Then if it doesn't work out you can force them to fix it because you have there statement in writing. Also make sure you get at least 2 bids for the replacement furnace.

[plumducky]

I'm going to be installing the electric furnace myself, hvac. An electrician friend of mine is going to inspect my installation, before I turn it on. He's installed a few of them already, and has one in his mobile home.

I don't get the chance to talk to him that often lately, but I seem to remember him telling me that's what he did with his furnace...disconnected at least one of the heater banks - will have to talk to him about that. I seem to remember that he had a 76,000 BTU furnace in a 12' x 55' home; that must have been why.

I'll ask him about the demand electric meters, also.

Sure am grateful for all your help and in-depth knowledge on this subject.

Is checking the duct-work a matter of calculating its cubic feet and checking it against a chart that shows cubic feet necessary for BTU values? Maybe it's not as simple as cubic feet only?

[hvac1000]

There is such a thing called manual D that is like a code book for proper duct sizing/calculating BTU requirements.

Yes you can disconnect a bank of elements to be on the safe side.

Good luck with your project.

You can also do it the fast and easy way but not as accurate. If the new furnace is within 10% of the size of the old furnace the new furnace should function OK with the duct. Now remember this is just a rule of thumb.