We've been waffling on replacing my furnace for a while, and have gotten no closer to a decision. I'm hoping someone here can offer some insight that will tilt the balance one way or other.
Considerations:
-Furnace is 50 years old, but still running well. I've been told that given it's age, sudden, irreparable failure is increasingly possible. This is most likely during winter, which would leave us little room to make ideal replacement choices.
-Current Gas bill is ~2000 a year. (~60 in summer, ~250 in winter).
-Based on conversations with furnace techs/gasfitters, I can expect to save 30% in my heating with a new furnace, which I expect would cost me $6000 installed. ROI=~10 years.
-I expect to live in this place for roughly 10 more years - 5 min, 15 max. I don't expect a furnace would contribute much to resale value, as house is a likely pulldown candidate and purchaser would be paying for land/location.
-I'm still toying with the idea of installing a wood fireplace, which I expect to cost ~3500, and give us a fallback in case of furnace failure. Additionally, it would potentially offset heating costs in winter. On the downside, it would slightly increase my house insurance.
I'm leaning towards replacing, but now is not a good time to part with ~$6000. OTOH, whatever I do, it's better done sooner than later.
Having trouble making a decision here. Can anyone offer insight to tilt things one way or the other?
Best regards,
LM.