Gas Furnaces
How to Choose the Right Furnace
Are you thinking about upgrading your furnace but not quite sure where to begin?
We understand. Furnaces are more efficient than ever, with a plethora of features designed to keep you comfortable. They come in different sizes and shapes, some more powerful than others. They also have different price points based on their efficiency ratings.
The thermostat is the brains of your heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system. But it’s the furnace that provides all the muscle, teaming up with your ductwork to send warm air throughout your Montana, home.
And always remember, a happy home is a warm one! It would only take a few cold days in a row with no indoor heat for all the pipes in your home to freeze.
What matters most is to pick the right furnace that fits your budget and the size of your home. Our team at Comfort Solutions has the knowledge and expertise to help you make that choice. We’re a trusted name in Corvallis, for creating healthy homes. Give us a call today—we can schedule a free consultation to help with your next home improvement project.
Choosing the Right Furnace by Fuel Type
Your first decision is easy: choosing the fuel type.
The most common source is natural gas. Your local utility company supplies the fuel delivered to your home through an underground gas line. The price of natural gas is relatively stable, so you don’t have to worry about cost fluctuations. Plus, you never need to worry about storage.
- If you have access to a natural gas line, we strongly recommend a gas furnace. These furnaces have proven their value over the years for providing steady comfort on the coldest of days.
- Oil furnaces are a popular alternative in the United States, particularly in parts of the Northeast that do not have easy access to natural gas. These types of furnaces last longer than a gas furnace but do not operate as efficiently. Oil prices fluctuate more than natural gas prices, making it harder to gauge your monthly expenses. Plus, you will need a storage tank for the oil.
- Electric furnaces tend to last longer than gas furnaces and cost less to install. On the other hand, they are more expensive to operate and take longer to heat your home. Anyone living in a cold climate would enjoy more comfort with a gas or oil furnace.
Choosing the Right Furnace Speed
Furnaces run at different speeds. The operating speed you choose will impact your comfort, budget, and indoor air quality (IAQ).
Single-stage furnaces have just two settings, on or off. Your furnace switches on and continues to run to reach the desired temperature. Once it reaches the temperature, the furnace turns off. Single-stage furnaces are the most affordable models and easiest to install. But they are the least efficient and tend to create hot and cold spots in larger homes.
Two-stage furnaces run at full-speed and half-speed. This allows your furnace to heat your home more evenly, producing a more consistent temperature from room to room. In addition to producing better heating, the half-speed setting is much quieter.
Variable speed furnaces are the gold standard of the heating world. These models adjust their speeds to provide precise comfort. They run longer at slower speeds, improving efficiencies while lowering your energy bills. Because they do not frequently cycle on and off, these systems tend to have fewer breakdowns.
Variable speed furnaces are much more adept in maintaining your indoor air quality, catching harmful particles, and eliminating excess moisture that causes mold growth. Larger homes benefit tremendously from variable speed furnaces.
Choosing an Efficient Furnace
The AFUE (annual fuel utilization efficiency) rating on your furnace indicates how much energy it converts. An energy-efficient furnace with an AFUE rating of 95 can convert 95 percent of the energy it consumes into heat.
The higher the AFUE rating, the more money you save on monthly utility bills. Energy-efficient furnaces emit fewer greenhouse gases and make less noise when they operate. If you want to reduce your home’s carbon footprint, the perfect place to start is with your heating and cooling equipment!
How Much Money Can a New Furnace Save You?
Our AFUE energy savings calculator can help determine how much you could save on your utility bills. Just enter your current unit’s AFUE value and compare it to a newer, more efficient system.
The AFUE Calculator is disabled because JavaScript did not properly load.
To view the calculator please try your browser's refresh button, enable JavaScript, or try a different browser.
Furnace Installation or Replacement
Don’t invest in a quality HVAC system and then hire a substandard contractor to install it. You will never enjoy the full benefits of a system installed incorrectly.
At Comfort Solutions, we specialize in installing equipment the right way. We take our time to ensure everything is measured correctly. Our team will also conduct a thorough energy audit of your home to find additional ways to lower your energy use.
Be sure to ask about our convenient financing options designed to make it easy for you to create your dream home.
Furnace Repairs
Odd sounding noises, a spike in energy bills, or constant cycling—these signs indicate a problem with your furnace. Don’t wait for a minor issue to turn into a costly problem. Give us a call today if you detect a problem with your HVAC system. We promise never to replace a part unless necessary—or if we can demonstrate significant cost savings.
Furnace Maintenance
Want to get the most value from your HVAC system? Develop a preventative maintenance plan. Doing so can rejuvenate your equipment, increase your comfort, and lower your operating costs.
Call Us Today
Our entire team at Comfort Solutions values the trust you placed in our company—we promise to work extra hard to keep your business. Let us install your next furnace. Give our Victor, MT, office a call today for a free consultation. Call us at (406) 637-4944 or request service online today.
Called Kory from Comfort Solutions to replace a furnace on a rental property. He got out there right away and brought heaters until the new furnace could be installed. Thanks Kory!
Comfort Solutions has worked on the HVAC in our outbuilding and now the furnace in our home and I could not be more pleased. Professional, friendly, spot on appointment times and very knowledgeable. You don’t want to have to have work like this done, but when you do, call these guys. They make it as painless as possible.
Kory and his crew deserve 10 gold stars. The Comfort Solutions team is fast, efficient, professional and just an all around great group of people. I needed to have my furnace replaced and Kory worked with us to get the right furnace for our needs at a great price. His team is polite, respectful and honest. I highly recommend Comfort Solutions.
I am amazed with the courtesy and speed I was treated to by Kory when I had a problem with a furnace not firing. He dispatched one of his crews immediately when they finished up with another call. Superior results and a VERY happy customer. Shortly after my son had trouble with his furnace, called Comfort Solutions and they performed another great save for us. Very Professional, Accurate, and great follow up by Lilliana. A BIG THANK YOU!! All of this in a 30inch snow storm!!!!
I highly recommend Comfort Solutions. The entire crew were fantastic. In the midst of single digit temperatures, they replaced my entire heating system and brought me 8 space heaters to help keep the house warm while I waited a couple of days for the new unit to arrive. Thanks all!
I just moved in a newer house in Stevensville. I have propane and a lot of pipes for an unlimited hot water heater that was no longer hooked up but all the plumbing was left behind. I have a crawl space with a lot of equipment that I know nothing about, and in the realtor world you have to communicate through the realtors but never with the owner directly. I moved in right after Christmas and the house has been perfect and well built, but on a particularly cold night, the house was cooling off and I did not know what could be wrong, as my experience was with natural gas only. I called a business called Energy Partners to ask what I needed to do, since I was new to the area. They suggested 3 business’s who dealt with gas and plumbing. Comfort Solutions was the first business that was mentioned, though I heard high reviews for all three. When we called, it was late afternoon on a Friday, and I dreaded being cold all weekend. The company said that one of their repairmen was just finishing a job close by and could be at my house within a half hour. I would be the last call for him this day. He showed up about 20 minutes later on a frigid afternoon, and he was happy and easy going. It turned out that a door on a unit had accidentally been pressed and the heat unit had turned off. While he was here he answered several questions that I had about items in the crawl space and also dismantling the endless hot water unit that was left like a skeleton hanging in the corner of my laundry room taking up space. He was pleasant and knowledgeable and acted like it was the beginning of a day instead of the end of a long cold week. I was confident that all would be OK for a really cold weekend, and had their number if I had other trouble. As it was, I called the company again a couple weeks later and scheduled them to come take apart the endless hot water unit and cap a gas pipe used by the last owner who had a gas dryer. The two guys that showed up at 7:00 a.m. on time were also pleasant and knowledgeable and patient to a few extra questions I asked. They both got right to work, and in about 40 minutes all was done and they were off to their next challenge that day. I am confident that any problem you have, they can handle it professionally and in a timely manner. They put my mind at ease, and made me feel I had someone who I could count on any time day or night. They were quick to return my call, on time, pleasant, knowledgeable, and definitely excellent in their trade. It is true, there are no stupid questions, because I learned a lot in a short time, and I am so grateful I have a company with solid people that I can count on. Give them try, you will be happy you did.
