We used many sources to evaluate the top furnaces. Here is a summary of the sources and our opinions on which sources were the most useful.
Consumer Reviews
The most important source of information before buying a new furnace is from other consumers who have actually bought one. There is still not a lot of consumer review information on the Internet about heating and air conditioning equipment but it is growing. The most comprehensive and best consumer reviews cover furnaces that are relatively popular and have been on the market for over a year. New furnaces and less popular furnaces do not have a large number of consumer reviews and you are taking a chance if you decide to buy one of these furnaces.
- furnacecompare.com is by far the best source of consumer review information on furances. They have reviews fro mbot hconsumers and sometimes contractors on most of the top furnaces.
Expert Reviews
Consumer Reports did a review of actual owners of over 36k furnaces but it was from 1997-2004. You have to subscribe to consumer reports to read this report and it probably is not worth the money given that it stopped in 2004.
Consumersearch.com does a review of the types of furnaces including 90% AFUE, multi-stage high efficiency furnaces, 80% AFUE furnaces, and oil furnaces. They summarize expert reviews from a variety of sources but use the report from Dully at sensible home for most of their material in this guide. Consumer search does not have any consumer reviews on their site and they weighted the expert reviews higher than the consumer review for their analysis.
Guides
Consumer Reports does a pretty good job covering the information for furnaces including features, efficiency, venting, repairs, and how to choose a contractor. You can access the guide material without subscibing to the magazine.
Consumersearch.com does provide some useful guide material on choosing a furnace including a review of the types of furnaces.
