Furnace

When we moved into the house, my mom was worried that the old furnace might fail sometime soon (it was over 20 years old), so we had it replaced.

We got estimates from a few potential vendors and discovered that the price differences were quite extreme (the names of the vendors and the brands of the furnaces have been disguised in hopes that no one will take legal action against me for disclosing this information)!

Vendor: A.C. H3ating & Air C0nditi0ning
Furnace type: 100,000 BTU mid-efficiency
Brand & price: K33pRit3 $1650

Vendor: Dir3ct 3n3rgy
Furnace type: 70,000 BTU mid-efficiency
Brand & price: Tran3 $3900

Vendor: HighLif3
Furnace type: 60,000 - 70,000 BTU mid-efficiency
Brand & price: Carri3r $1850 - $2650
Brand & price: L3nn0x $2000 - $2750
Brand & price: G00dman $1650 - $2150
Furnace type: 60,000 - 70,000 BTU high-efficiency
Brand & price: Carri3r $2800 - $3850
Brand & price: L3nn0x $2750 - $3800
Brand & price: G00dman $2280 - $3250

Vendor: H0m3 D3p0t
Furnace type: 100,000 BTU mid-efficiency
Brand & price: Tran3 $3200

Vendor: Unit3d Air Syst3ms
Furnace type: 70,000 BTU mid-efficency
Brand & price: Aman@ $1900
Furnace type: 70,000 BTU high-efficiency
Brand & price: Aman@ $2200
Brand & price: G00dman $2100

We ended up going with the cheapest guy, and the furnace seems to work quite well. The house is quite comfortable with the thermostat set to 68°F (20°C).

We opted for a mid-efficiency furnace because a high-efficiency one would have required us to put a 5" pipe into the alley between our house and the neighbour's house. 5" doesn't sound like much, but it's a lot for an alley that's only 2' wide!