Prius economics buys a gas furnace

BACKGROUND

In 1991, we bought our house with a major appliance warranty. We soon learned the gas furnace had a failed heater box which risks CO poisoning. It was replaced . . . a warranty replacement.

Over the 24 years, I've kept the old unit working by various 'Bobs jobs'. The systemic problem was the evaporator coil overhead that leaked on the warranty unit. That evaporator unit is being removed as part of the replacement . . . never again.

SELECTION

The replacement is a Lennex, 97.6% efficient, unit. I was offered a $1,800 cheaper, 80% unit. But as I explained to them,"We own two Prius."

In Prius economics:

• Operational efficiency is more important than purchase price.

Today's money can disappear in an instant from theft, Nigerian-hucksters, other priorities, e.t.c. But money spent on efficiency is in a vault that thieves can never take. Unlike a CD, it returns heat and value which non-Prius people are unable to understand.

Money comes in two flavors:

1. Capital money
2. Operational money

They are not the same thing. Too many times I've seen the bitter aftertaste of poor quality replace the brief sweetness of cheap. For example, in 1986 I prepared the plant and equipment budget for my GE facility:

• Four Macintosh for work processing group
• Four PC portables compatibles for engineering lab
• Two AT/PCs compatibles for accounting and scheduling

Then we got "helped" by division headquarters who made them all IBM PCs and jacked up the cost 50%. Worse, they claimed everything the Macs could do, the PCs could too. The portables were bigger and slower than the compatibles. Only the accounting systems achieved their desired goal.

Within a year, I used my personal Mac to take a job in Huntsville AL and that GE facility never got a taste of the work we did in Huntsville. The word processing department could not compete nor could their engineers whose lab was unable to compete.

OTHER CHARACTERISTICS

The new unit will:

• Install PVC exhaust pipe - the exhaust is so cool it risks condensing in the pipe. They offered a cheaper, 80% unit that waste heat to keep the H{2}O exhaust vapor from condensing so a cheaper pipe can be used.
• External combustion air pipe - again, there is no reason to induct house warm air that sucks in outside air for furnace combustion air. This is the classic problem of traditional wood stoves and fireplaces that toast the fire facing side yet freeze the backside from the outside air coming in to replace the combustion and chimney vent air.
• Hallway accessed filter - the existing filter required removing a cover, unhooking two flimsy metal strips, extracting filter, and installing the filter from the narrow end. The replacement filter holder accessible from the hall will not require partial disassembly of the heater, removing the interlock protected cover. Easier filter replacement means the fan won't have to work so hard.
• Single-plug, 110VAC power - one of my earliest modifications, our Prius will be able to power the unit during a winter storm outage.

Bob Wilson