10-22-2014, 07:35 AM
I've received good car advice on this forum, so now I have some furnace / water tank questions. There are a lot of techy folk on this site, so I thought why not!
Our furnace in our postwar bungalow will need replacing soon, as it's 21 years old. The furnace is still running fine but it actually could break down anytime due to its age. If we replace it before the end of the year with something more efficient, we are eligible for energy-saving rebates of $1600.00.
I'm in touch with a company / contractor whom I trust very much. He specializes in high-energy efficient solutions. He is strongly advising me to rent a Polaris water tank (I can provide more details re its model number if necessary). This is a combo unit that can be used to heat our small house as well as a water tank. We will also have to pay for and install an Air Handler unit, which is pricey.
However, the company that we rent our furnace and water tank from says this is a crazy, expensive and unreliable idea! But my contractor says just the opposite and that the energy company is just doing what is easy and economical for them.
Instead of the Polaris, our energy company is advising us to go with an on-demand wall unit (for hot water) and a high efficiency Carrier Furnace.
After going back & forth several times, it now seems that our energy company actually will (albeit reluctantly?) install the Polaris unit for us. If we go with the Polaris unit, it seems that our upfront installation fees will be high but that our ongoing rental fees will be low (and just the opposite if we follow our energy company's advice).
Can anyone offer any advice to make this clearer for my wife & I? It's beginning to make a little more sense but our main concerns are now about the Polaris unit. Does anyone have or use one of these and are they reliable?
Feel free to ask any other questions. This situation is very complicated (especially to us) but I've tried to simplify it the best I can.
Thanks in advance!
Our furnace in our postwar bungalow will need replacing soon, as it's 21 years old. The furnace is still running fine but it actually could break down anytime due to its age. If we replace it before the end of the year with something more efficient, we are eligible for energy-saving rebates of $1600.00.
I'm in touch with a company / contractor whom I trust very much. He specializes in high-energy efficient solutions. He is strongly advising me to rent a Polaris water tank (I can provide more details re its model number if necessary). This is a combo unit that can be used to heat our small house as well as a water tank. We will also have to pay for and install an Air Handler unit, which is pricey.
However, the company that we rent our furnace and water tank from says this is a crazy, expensive and unreliable idea! But my contractor says just the opposite and that the energy company is just doing what is easy and economical for them.
Instead of the Polaris, our energy company is advising us to go with an on-demand wall unit (for hot water) and a high efficiency Carrier Furnace.
After going back & forth several times, it now seems that our energy company actually will (albeit reluctantly?) install the Polaris unit for us. If we go with the Polaris unit, it seems that our upfront installation fees will be high but that our ongoing rental fees will be low (and just the opposite if we follow our energy company's advice).
Can anyone offer any advice to make this clearer for my wife & I? It's beginning to make a little more sense but our main concerns are now about the Polaris unit. Does anyone have or use one of these and are they reliable?
Feel free to ask any other questions. This situation is very complicated (especially to us) but I've tried to simplify it the best I can.
Thanks in advance!
Rob
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