Happy New Year!
Natural Gas Furnace & Boiler REBATE
While we’re all hoping for a better year, making our resolutions, and tweaking our spending budgets, we’ve already been hit with some news that will affect our pocketbook.
Natural Gas rates are going up as of January 1, 2019. The natural gas utility suffered a setback earlier this fall, when an Enbridge natural gas pipeline ruptured near Prince George and cut off flows on Oct. 9.
The line was out of commission for weeks, before being moved up to 80 per cent capacity in November.
Residential customers in the Mainland and Vancouver Island service areas will see an annual increase of nine per cent, or $68, based on an average annual usage of 90 gigajoules.
One reasonable way to offset this news is to consider upgrading your existing old and fuel-hungry furnace for one that will help improve your budget.
The fantastic Fortis Rebates are being held over to 2019, which offers you a great incentive to make that change now! It’s important to note that although the rebates are being held over,they can end at any time.
So now is the perfect time to replace your old natural gas furnace or boiler with an eligible ENERGY STAR® model and qualify for a rebate of either $500 or $700 on a furnace, or $500 on a boiler.
Are you eligible?
- You must be a FortisBC residential natural gas customer, with natural gas as your primary source of heat.
- Your existing furnace or boiler must be at least 10 years old and must not require repairs in excess of $1,000 (pre-tax, including parts and labour).
- You must install an eligible ENERGY STAR furnace or boiler with a two-pipe direct vent system.**
- You must have purchased, installed and paid in full for your furnace or boiler on or after July 10, 2018.
- Applications must be submitted within 60 days of the installation date.
One thing is certain: Aging furnaces tend to fail at the time of peak demand. If you conclude that your existing furnace may require replacement in the near future, it’s better to make a considered choice now than a snap decision during a breakdown on a cold night.
A furnace 15 years old or older may have an AFUE (annualized fuel utilization efficiency) of 76 percent or less. The AFUE represents the percentage of fuel utilized to actually produce heat versus the amount lost in the combustion process. Switching the old-school unit for a new, high-efficiency furnace buys you an AFUE of 90 percent or more (in many models 95%). That means you can expect your 21st-century unit to begin saving gas from day one, and may pay for itself in a reasonable length of time from lowered gas bills.
A newer energy efficient furnace will not only keep you comfortably warm in this horrible blustery weather, but will keep those dollars in your pocket.
Want to know how to begin saving money, and discover whether you are eligible for rebates. Give us a call for a free in-home consultation. A friendly and knowledgeable home comfort advisor is available to meet with you, at your convenience, to assist you in selecting the HVAC equipment that is perfect for your home, your budget and your lifestyle. Gandy provides you with a written quote for equipment and installation.
We also accept calls on short notice. We always keep a variety of furnaces and heat pumps in stock for emergency installations.
Gandy installations is committed to rigorously ethical business practices. We do our best to ensure that you are 100 percent satisfied with your HVAC equipment installation and the work that we do.