How We Size a Furnace for Your Home
A furnace that is too large for the house costs more to buy, more to run, and heats the rooms less evenly. Most quotes copy the output from the rating plate on the old unit, and a furnace two sizes too large runs in short bursts and shuts off before the heat reaches the far bedroom.
We work from measurements instead. A technician records every room, your windows, your insulation and the air your ducts can carry, then calculates the output your home actually needs. That figure varies widely in Elmira, because a 19th century village house and a 2015 subdivision build are both ordinary here. Close to a quarter of the homes in this township have passed 60 years, and more than a third went up in the last twenty.
The permit is straightforward here, and we file it. Woolwich names installing or modifying a heating system as work that requires a building permit, so we file one for your furnace. The fee is a flat amount for each residential suite, set out in the township's published fee schedule, and we show it on your quote.
What Every Furnace Quote Here Covers
Every furnace we install includes the same eight steps, and we charge none of them as an extra.
- We measure every room on the quote visit, so the size comes from your home and not from the old rating plate.
- We file the permit in our own name, and the fee appears on your quote.
- We drain and disconnect the old furnace, carry it out, and cap the gas line behind it.
- We size and run a new vent route, because high-efficiency equipment has to exhaust through a wall of its own.
- We check the return air against the new blower and rebuild the metal above the furnace where it restricts airflow.
- We route the condensate drain to a proper outlet, since that water will damage a finished basement.
- We file the notification for any new wiring with the Electrical Safety Authority, because the township does not inspect electrical work.
- We book the township inspection, and we run a full heating cycle with you present before we leave.
Tell us on your first call whether the house burns propane or oil rather than gas. It affects what is worth installing, and on a heat pump it changes the rebate by thousands of dollars.
Comparing Single Stage, Two Stage and Modulating Furnaces
Your furnace has to hold the house on the coldest night the Building Code plans for. The Lennox furnaces we fit are listed on our furnace installation page, and when one part has failed on a furnace with years of life left, furnace repair is the cheaper answer.
| How the furnace runs | What you notice in January | The homes it suits best |
|---|---|---|
| Single stage, which means one speed | It runs at full output or shuts off completely, so you hear it start every time. | A newer home with short duct runs, and the least costly option. |
| Two stage, which is two speeds | It spends most of the winter on the lower speed and steps up to the higher one only when the temperature drops. | Our usual recommendation here, and the first answer for an upstairs room that never warms up. |
| Modulating, which means it adjusts its output as it runs | It varies its output continuously and keeps a room within a degree of the setting you chose. | An older house with duct runs added a century apart, where the ductwork was never designed as a whole. |
The number on the carton matters less than most people expect. What you notice in the house comes from the vent route, the ductwork, and how carefully we commission it.
Who Will Install Your Furnace
We have been installing gas heating in this part of the region for more than 10 years. We hold an Authorized Lennox Dealer agreement, so the training and the parts behind every furnace we install come from the factory. Homeowners themselves vote for the HomeStars Best of Award, which we have won five times.
Sina owns the business and he is still the technician on most driveways. That matters most on an older house, where we have to judge three things: where the vent can run, how much air the ductwork will carry, and which size is honest. We would rather one technician made all three judgements and answered for them.
Sina was very responsive about supplying and installing a new furnace. Very professional, clean workmanship. Complete install took about 4 hours. Furnace was exactly as described. I got a better furnace than I anticipated for a price lower than other HVAC suppliers.
Sheldon AtosGoogle reviewWhat Decides the Price on Your Quote
We would rather show you where the money goes. The furnace itself is often the smaller part of the bill, and the house decides the rest.
If paying monthly suits you better, our financing page sets out what is available.
| What the quote visit finds | Why it moves your price |
|---|---|
| The size your rooms call for | In most homes the answer is one size below the unit being removed, and a smaller furnace uses less gas every winter. |
| The number of speeds you choose | A single speed furnace is the cheapest way in. One that adjusts its output costs more and holds the far rooms closer to your setting. |
| The chimney | A high-efficiency furnace cannot vent into brick, so it needs a new pipe through an exterior wall. On a tight lot that route adds hours of labour. |
| The metal above the furnace | If the return cannot feed the new blower, we rebuild it, and cutting and rebuilding metal in your basement takes hours. |
| The gas line and the breaker | A short run with capacity to spare keeps this line small. A long run from a meter on the far wall of the basement costs more. |
| The permit | The township's fee is $130.00 for each residential suite, whatever size of furnace goes in. |
| Extras fitted on the same visit | A humidifier, a deeper filter cabinet or a better thermostat costs less to fit while the furnace is out than on a separate visit. |
The Four Steps of a Furnace Installation
We buy no equipment until you have approved a written price and chosen the day.
You tell us what winter is like in the house
Use the form, or give us a call. Tell us how old the furnace is, how old the house is, and whether anything else is still connected to that chimney.
We measure the rooms and file the permit
Your technician measures every room, works out where the new vent can run, and files the permit with Woolwich, so you do not have to.
Your price arrives on a single page
Your quote sets out the make and model, the output, any metal work, the vent route and the permit fee, and every line carries a price.
We install it, and we commission it with you watching
The old furnace goes out on our truck. We set the new one, run its own vent, reconnect the gas and the power, and then run a full heating cycle while you watch. The warranty goes in your name before we leave.
The streets and rural roads we cover
A double brick house in the village and a new build on the south edge need different work from the same furnace, and we install in both. Past the village we cover the farm lots and the hamlets as well. Tell us the road and we will send a technician who knows it.
- Birdland
- Southwood
- Southwood Park
- South Parkwood Boulevard
- Timber Trail Road
- Arthur Street
- Listowel Road
- Floradale
- Conestogo
- Heidelberg
- Bloomingdale
- Winterbourne
- West Montrose
- Maryhill
- Shantz Station
- Breslau
- Crowsfoot Corner
- Mundil
- Weber
- Martin Grove
We also provide heat pump installation and air conditioning installation in Elmira. Our Elmira HVAC page lists every service we offer in the township.
