My recent furnace installation was atrocious. I’m a renter, so despite working with residential HVAC, I don’t have my choice of furnace installer. The landlord makes that decision, and they made a bad one.

I want to dive further into that story a bit later, but the point is that not all furnaces or furnace installations are created equal. Far from it.

So what’s the best furnace? That’s the wrong question. Or at least, it lacks some context. What most people are really asking when they inquire about the best is “what’s going to be the best home heating system for me?”

That’s a very different question, and it involves things like the company you choose to install the system, the price, how difficult your home is to properly heat, and more.

There exists a correct answer…but that answer can change depending on the household. So let’s give you the tools to answer the question for yourself.

Best Furnace Brand

Spoiler warning: furnace brand is not the most important factor in getting the best furnace. Some are better than others, yes, but a lot of them are really good. Most name-brand manufacturers make quality equipment.

This doesn’t mean all brands are created equal, though.

Lesser-known brands may be initially cheaper, but a couple common problems can occur:

The quality is lower
Parts are not as readily available in case of repairs

The latter is because your smallest brands won’t have the logistics networks of larger manufacturers, so sometimes you’ll end up paying more or waiting longer (or both!) for a repair.

Talking to your chosen HVAC contractor can help, because they’ll know about supply chains and will have a sense of how unique or common the parts are for a particular unit. If this may be a concern to you, having a conversation with them about reliability and part availability can help.

And what are some good brands? Trane, Ruud, Rheem, Goodman, Lennox, Daikin, Bryant and others all have good reputations. See our article below for more on this topic.

Best Furnace Installation

Ok, now we’re cooking. Furnace installation matters more than basically anything else in the process.

Remember the bad install I mentioned at the start of this article? My old system was extremely old, not very efficient, and ANY modern system should have been a large upgrade in heating quality.

Instead, I get a hissing noise, very little airflow, and air that never feels as warm as expected. I’ll be giving the management company a call soon, so they can resolve the issue(s). But the point is that this is a brand new system. These things should have been resolved when it was installed.

And if that’s an immediate problem, what does that say about the attention to detail in the installation process as a whole?

A good furnace installer:

Is well-reviewed on popular consumer sites (Google, Yelp, BBB, etc.)
Shows up on-time
Uses dropcloths and plastic boot coverings as needed to keep your home clean
Reviews the work with you both beforehand and afterward
Test the equipment to make sure it’s running properly
Follows up with you to ensure everything is running smoothly

As a renter, the installers likely didn’t care about earning my trust, and it showed. They left a mess, and the work itself was shoddy. The best companies want you to be lifelong customers, and their attention to detail shows this.

Best AFUE Rating

AFUE stands for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency. It can be used for water heaters and other heating devices, but usually refers to the efficiency that your heater operates at. The most efficient furnaces operate around 96-98% AFUE.

It’s important to note that AFUE is only used for natural gas systems, not electrical heating systems.

AFUE is measured as a percentage, and it’s actually easy to understand. If your AFUE is 80%, that means that 80% of the energy used to power the furnace is going toward heating your home.

Important Note: AFUE is only accurate if there is no energy loss elsewhere in your system, and if the equipment is operating at its optimal efficiency. This is again why the installation is so important. If it’s bad, your 96% efficient furnace might actually be operating at 70%, costing you money, energy, and comfort!

AFUE can be a great way to calculate potential cost savings between options, but higher efficiency means higher upfront cost, so it can be important to know what your budget is, and also how long you expect to stay in the home.

And what about electric heaters? Heat pumps can be used to heat, though they’re often supplemented with electric heating strips that are housed in the air handler. These strips operate at 100% efficiency!

That doesn’t necessarily mean they’re cheaper or better, though. Why? It depends on the cost of electricity vs. natural gas where you live.

So the calculation of “best” in this case includes taking into consideration where you live, what your utilities costs are, and how much you run your system.

Best Furnace Staging

Furnaces have “stages” that relate to efficiency. The first stage is childhood…only kidding. But let’s actually talk about stages.

Single-stage or one-stage furnaces operate at - you guessed it - a single setting. It’s either 100% on or it’s off.

Two-stage furnaces have a second setting, usually 60% or 70% power. This uses less energy and can help to more evenly heat the entire home.

Multi-stage (sometimes called variable speed or modulating) furnaces have anywhere from three to several stages. The exact number will depend on the brand and model. They can modulate between several stages depending on the heating needs of the home. This offers maximum potential cost savings and overall comfort.

Multi-stage furnaces are the best, full stop, if we’re talking about technological sophistication, efficiency and comfort. They’ll again be more expensive than the other types, so if your home isn’t particularly difficult to heat, you may not need it.

However, for homes with second stories or finished attics that struggle to stay comfortable, multi-stage equipment can go a long way toward reducing your energy bill and making your entire home comfortable throughout the year.

Furnace Accessories

Furnaces don’t operate alone in heating your home. Don’t believe me? Try removing your ductwork.

Don’t actually try that, of course, but I use that example to make the point that your heating and cooling system is more than just the central furnace unit.

Leaky or improperly sized ductwork can turn a great furnace into a terrible one. A cheap filter can clog up your system, reduce airflow, and make your system work harder. This both costs you money, reduces heating capacity, and increases the chance that your system will break down prematurely.

All from a poor filter. Getting a great, high-quality filter to go with your great furnace is a must!

If we’re talking “best” - which we are - we also want to talk about accessories that make your heating more effective.

The first is a humidifier. Humidity equals warmth to the human body, and we’re all familiar with how dry the air can get in the winter time. A ducted, whole-home humidifier can supplement your furnace by adding moisture to the air. This can be the entire difference between uncomfortable, dry, flaky skin and feeling comfortable.

Next, the most sophisticated systems have the most sophisticated thermostats. These systems can actually collect temperature data from multiple points in the home. Multi-sensor temperature gauges provide more information to the thermostat, and therefore aids your furnace in providing the correct amount of heating to the home.

If you have, for example, a master bedroom that’s impossible to keep warm in the winter, this can be a great addition to close that gap and make sleeping a bit easier.

Cost of a Top-of-the-Line Furnace

So what’s the cost of all of this? The cost of a new furnace can be as much as $14,000 when accounting for all labor and fees.

That’s a high-end system, mind you. Plenty of furnaces are less than half that cost if you’d prefer a more budget-friendly option.

This is before the cost of any extras, like ductwork modification, a ducted humidifier, and any other upgrades. It also ignores the possibility of upgrading your air conditioner at the same time. Getting both done can save on labor costs, but will be more than the furnace alone.

Lastly, rebates and tax incentives often exist for high-efficiency equipment. This can reduce your bill by thousands! We speak from experience; we’ve helped hundreds of households to save thousands on home upgrades through state and federal rebates.

If you’re curious about top-of-the-line heating, but don’t think you can afford it, talk to your trusted heating and cooling partner. They may be able to find thousands in savings for you that bring a new, awesome system within reach.

Do You Need the Best Furnace?

So what is the best furnace? It’s a high-efficiency, multi-stage unit from a trusted brand, installed by expert technicians who don’t cut corners and can assess other parts of your system like ductwork to ensure it operates at max efficiency. And it’s supplemented with a humidifier, multi-sensor temperature gauges, and is in a home with recent insulation and excellent windows.

Do you need all of that? That’s the tougher question, and it’s one that only you can answer for yourself.

The good news is that a trusted heating company is going to be able to give you options and pricing for all of this, and help you come to a decision that works best for your home, budget and comfort needs.

If you’re in the Sacramento area, we hope we’re that company! Give us a call today for your free quote and to start your journey to more comfortable heating in your home!

What's the Best Furnace for Your Home?