New gas furnace needed in pa.

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My daughter’s furnace was red tagged by a tech because of a cracked pipe i think a combustion tube. She has a quote for a American std. 2 stage.

Her house is a condo one of the middle units built in the 90’s. Three levels. Old furnace / Ac units are approximately 20 years old.

This is what is proposed by a hvac company.

“ As we discussed, in any brand, the most popular level of equipment we install would have a 2 stage, variable speed, natural gas furnace with a 16 SEER (solid upper middle of the road) AC unit.”

I am not real close to her house and do not have a picture of the existing unit. I can get her to send one if needed.

I am wondering what 2 stage and 16SEER mean. I have zero knowledge of gas furnace. Proposed 3 tons I assume Ac. Are there any questions we need to ask them on sizing or other features.

Thanks for help.

Jamie Hall

Well, the furnace sizing should be done on the basis of a heat loss measurement of the structure. Two stage simply means, usually, that there are two levels the burner can fire at which also usually means -- particularly with the variable speed -- that the unit doesn't have to turn on and off so much to match the load. Has to be set up right. And SEER is a measure of the amount of cooling produced for a given amount of electricity used. It's sort of useful for comparing different units, but, like the EPA gas mileage numbers, that's about it.

HVACNUT

First, did the contractor do a heat loss calculation and Manual J?
Being a condo, it "probably" was spec'd and sized correctly, but...

Also get more quotes and ask for references or peek at their website gallery.

What climate zone is your daughter in? Maybe Dual Fuel is beneficial. Instead of a 2 stage furnace, a Heat Pump (in easy terms, it's Air Conditioning running in reverse, so it delivers heat rather than cooling in winter) and a gas furnace. Lack of existing control wiring might be an issue. Same said for a 2 stage furnace. There needs to be a minimum of 5 wires at the thermostat for 2 stage heat, 1 stage cool. 6 if a common is needed for a WiFi thermostat. 8 if she goes the heat pump route.

Any hoo, SEER is the Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio. The higher the number, the more efficient (less electrical usage). Same as with a heat pump and EER. Higher efficiency is more $$ upfront, so she should think about how long she plans to stay.

A 2 stage furnace, will start on low fire whenever the heat comes on. If the thermostat hasn't satisfied within the thermostats time limit, stage 2 (high fire) will kick in to heat the home quicker. Low fire Stage 1 will probably do all except the coldest days.

IMO, depending on gas and electric prices, a condo might benefit from a dual fuel HVAC system. But there has to be enough wires. Or run new if feasible.

Sorry @Jamie Hall I type real slow.

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She lives in southeast Pennsylvania. Using space heaters now.
Thanks for the replies they are very helpful.