What is the Best Gas Heater for Your Home in 2023?

Let me know if you agree with these rankings from Consumer Reports and their poll of over 36,000 furnace owners of systems installed between 2005 and 2021.

My house was built in 1961. The original McClary furnace is still running.

After researching for about 2 years on HVAC products, I've discovered that once you get a fairly reliable system, it's the local supply you have for parts and stuff that's really important.

11 years and counting now with a York Affinity 97.5% efficiency. It was installed by a local reputable heating company, 10 parts and labor warranty and lifetime on Heat exchanger. 1 pressure sensor replacement last year. Part was $45 CAD, installed myself in 15 mins. Its been a great system, in fact 3 neighbors bought the same and have had the same reliability.

Maytag owner here, 21 years. I have replaced 2 inducer motors and about 5 control boards in the last 7 years. I finally discovered that the control boards were failing because acidic moisture was leaking from the hose connections of the inducer, in the smallest amount, right on top of the control board. The corrosive moisture destroyed each control board in the same location.

I have a 1995 amana air command high efficient 90. I replaced the inducer once and the igniter. Still going strong.

My Rheem furnaces were installed in 1995. They still work great. They are easy to fix when something needs fixing. Usually the igniter is the problem.

Thanks for the very valuable information! I need to replace my 62-year-old Bard gas furnace this spring. The furnace is a tank, would probably last for another 60 years, but I know it's not very efficient. The problem seems to be my Rheem air conditioner. Apparently, the evaporator coils have never been cleaned and the only way to access them is to tear out the framework for the furnace. I can no longer live with the leaks in the basement, so it's time to invest in a replacement. Looks to me as if a complete Lennox system, available at a discount through Costco, will give me the best price and acceptably reliable performance. I'd heard conflicting reports from various sources about Lennox's performance, so I was happy to hear a good report.

Thanks a bunch for a candid review.

Nice video, I would like to see both AC and Heating systems rated by location. EX: I live in the far North and only use my central air a few weeks per year. On the ohter hand my heating system runs for five months or so. Someone in Fla. might have way more failures on their AC system while up North we see more furnace and boiler failures. Thanks for a great video.

Thank you great video. I have a amana Is there anyway to tell if a board is failing ? Or could a board fail intermittently?

This is good information as we are converting to gas in a year or so on a small duplex with 3400 sqft counting the basements and owner’s unit garage. We will have six zones counting the heat exchanger for domestic hot water. Currently we are using about 600;gallons of #1 heating oil a winter and electric water heaters

My Payne gas furnace is 28 years old and still working perfect.

Very useful information. Thank you.

Just getting our 1968 Stewart Warner furnace replaced with a Concord. Any advice on what to expect with a Concord?

Hello. Great video. I live in an apartment and the gas furnace stops working during a power outage. Can I connect a vehicle battery or some other power source to the furnace so that it will run during power outage? Thanks

We had a Bryant Furnace in our home that was built in 2002. I think it was 15 years old when it had to have the control board replaced. Other than that, it worked flawlessly. Same for our Bryant AC Unit which had zero issues in from 2002 to 2021...it would probably still be working fine had our home not burned in June of 2021.

I agree with comments about installer expertise is a big factor; also the length of time and reputation of the installation company. I disagree with some comments that equipment is equipment is equipment. My step-daughter had a Goodman electric AC unit installed in her Florida home recently. Within 2 months a board went bad and had to be replaced. Years ago, I ran a utility energy efficiency program and we routinely installed new gas furnaces to improve efficiencies and remove failing heat exchangers using licensed contractors. Callbacks were notorious on some equipment. I prefer Carrier and Lennox equipment myself and plan to have one of those installed to replace our 40 year old Bryant furnace in our Midwest home. Thanks for the video. It's helpful to understand how Consumer Reports calculates.

Great & honest info. Thank you.

Great review, thank you. It would be interesting to see relative costs for the four tiers of furnaces (i.e., 2/5, 3/5, 4/5 and 5/5 categories).