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Alex Hawkins is a writer for USA TODAY Homefront. He has worked on consumer surveys with over 5,000 homeowners, conducted in-depth interviews with solar and windows industry experts and has experienced ride-alongs with professional window installers. His work has also been featured on This Old House, MarketWatch and Architectural Digest. Alex has a Masters in English language and literature from Texas Tech University but now lives in Knoxville, Tennessee. In his free time, Alex explores the Smoky Mountains or publishes video essays and book reviews on his YouTube channel.
You’ll want to ensure your furnace is up to task before cold weather arrives. Our guide cuts through the noise to name the five top-rated furnace brands for reliability, efficiency and overall value.
Our top recommendation is Carrier, which provides some of the most well-rounded furnace options and the best customer support. We also place Lennox in the spotlight with some of the highest efficiency ratings on the market. If you need your furnace replaced on a budget, consider Bryant.
We evaluated dozens of furnace brands based on our methodology, rating each one’s warranty coverage, customer reputation, efficiency and more. We also surveyed 750 heating customers in late 2023 to learn more about their furnace repair experiences.
When shopping for a new furnace, consider its performance, estimated life span and pricing. Note its energy-efficiency features and upfront cost when assessing its value against your budget.
You should also understand a furnace brand’s warranty coverage. A good warranty should cover most of the furnace’s life span, although it’s not uncommon for it to fall short by around five years.
Below, we answer common questions about a quality furnace’s durability and cost.
An HVAC system regulates the temperature, humidity and air quality inside a building. Its main components are a furnace, an air conditioner and air ducts. Modern systems have zoning capabilities and can be controlled remotely via smartphone to readily meet your heating needs. Upgrades such as programmable thermostats and sealed ductwork can optimize performance and provide consistent indoor comfort.
Furnaces last 15 to 20 years, depending on the brand, model and maintenance. You should usually replace them within this time frame to avoid costly repairs. After 10 years, issues become more frequent, and it’s better to replace the entire furnace than to invest in fixing an old and inefficient one.
Based on our October 2023 survey of 750 heating customers, most homeowners paid $500 to $2,000 for furnace repair. Replacing an entire unit will cost more than this and will depend on the type of furnace you purchase. The furnace’s size and efficiency features are the biggest influences on the heating system’s overall price.
Based on our assessment, these are the best furnace brands. Typically, pricing and quality align, so our top recommendations are also the highest initial cost — but remember that higher-efficiency furnaces can lower your ongoing utility bills.
What we like
We like that Carrier aims to balance performance and comfort with its furnaces. Carrier’s furnaces run on natural gas, but the furnace can be converted to run on liquid propane. Carrier offers furnaces with AFUE ratings between 80% and 98.5%. This measurement refers to how efficiently a furnace converts energy from fuel into warm air for your home; the higher the rating, the better.
Carrier has also partnered with Energy Star to meet strict energy efficiency requirements set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This, combined with low sound ratings and variable-speed blowers, makes Carrier’s furnaces some of the best-performing and most well-balanced heating appliances on the market.
What we don’t like
Because it’s a premium brand, Carrier charges more for its natural gas furnaces; you might be able to find a furnace from another brand with similar performance at a lower price. You’ll also need a Carrier salesperson to visit your home to get an accurate pricing estimate. This is frustrating when you consider that many other brands offer transparent pricing.
Carrier, a company that provides services related to HVAC systems, has mixed customer review scores on sites such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB). While the company has an A- rating on the BBB, some negative reviews indicate that customers have difficulty getting a Carrier representative to cover repairs or replacements. However, Carrier proactively addresses these concerns by responding to every complaint on its headquarters page. We find the company’s overall online presence a good sign of quality customer service.
Carrier’s most efficient unit is its Infinity 98 Gas Furnace With Greenspeed Intelligence at 98.5% AFUE.
Carrier provides a standard 10-year warranty with its furnaces, which can be extended upon registration. Without registration, the warranty is limited to five years.
At a glance, Carrier’s furnaces are more expensive than those of competitors. When researching the company’s products, we noted some units cost as much as $15,000, but others can be as low as $3,200. A more standard heating unit installation costs around $5,000–$7,000. As mentioned above, you need an in-home visit for more accurate pricing.
Lennox is known for its highly efficient furnaces and other HVAC products with some of the highest AFUE ratings in the industry. Lennox offers high-end products, including a smart thermostat that seamlessly integrates with popular smart-home platforms. Its oil and gas furnaces come with a 20-year heat exchanger warranty, which becomes a lifetime limited warranty upon registration.
Lennox also partners with Energy Star to provide high-efficiency furnaces. Its products are slightly more efficient than Carrier’s, with some units reaching 99% AFUE. Additionally, Lennox offers some of the quietest oil and gas furnaces with variable blower motors. If you are concerned about noise and performance, Lennox is for you.
Like Carrier, Lennox products are priced higher than other brands. The company’s focus on proprietary, high-end parts means its repairs are typically more expensive. Although these are costly parts, they make Lennox’s furnaces more efficient. We recommend you balance your budget to determine whether higher repair and installation costs are worth the long-term energy savings.
Lennox has received an A+ rating from the BBB despite having a low customer review score. This positive rating is partly due to the company’s high response rate and effective complaints handling. On Lennox’s BBB and Trustpilot profiles, we found a mix of customer complaints and praises. Many customers expressed frustration with long wait times for replacement parts, which sometimes took up to seven weeks to arrive. However, many customers were impressed with Lennox’s customer service staff, who were courteous, helpful and responsive.
You can find furnaces that reach as high as 99% AFUE in Lennox’s Elite series. The company also includes other energy-efficient features, such as variable-speed motors. These motors allow the furnace to run at a range of speeds rather than just one or two.
Lennox provides some of the most comprehensive warranties we’ve seen. You’ll receive the company’s basic limited warranty covering some components and the furnace’s heat exchanger. The heat exchanger is crucial since it transfers heat from the furnace to your home. Warranty coverage may vary by product line, but all units have a three-year labor warranty at no additional cost.
Here are the warranty options for Lennox’s most popular lines:
Signature Collection products:
Elite Series products:
Merit Series products:
These warranties extend the coverage period upon product registration. The extended coverage varies by product.
Lennox is another high-end HVAC brand. The Signature Series includes some of their most expensive products, with prices reaching up to $10,000. The Merit Series is a more affordable option with units starting at $3,000. For a standard home, you can expect to pay between $3,000 and $7,000 for a reasonable unit from Lennox.
If you need to replace your furnace on a budget, we recommend Bryant. The company offers some of the most innovative heating units at affordable prices. For example, its Bryant Hybrid Heat system combines a gas furnace and a heat pump into one efficient heating and cooling system. Bryant’s gas furnaces provide ample comfort features and achieve impressive energy efficiency ratings of up to 98.3% AFUE.
The biggest downside to Bryant is its warranty coverage. The company’s warranties are below average compared to others on this list; it only offers a 10-year limited warranty. Despite having decent energy efficiency, we also noticed that many of Bryant’s furnaces lack an Energy Star rating.
Bryant has an outstanding reputation with an impressive 4.9 out of 5 stars and an A+ rating on its BBB profile. Even though the company is not accredited, it has received many positive customer reviews, which are quite uncommon among other brands. It’s possible some customers were incentivized based on the large number of reviews with very little detail.
However, Bryant seems to have a positive reputation on other websites. In this Reddit thread, customers and technicians mention the accessibility of Bryant’s parts and the value of its products compared to competitors, such as Carrier.
Bryant’s Evolution 96 Variable-Speed 986T Gas Furnace offers its peak efficiency at 96.7% AFUE.
Bryant offers standard warranties for its units. Although they are not the best in the market, they are still better than many other providers. Select Evolution units have a 10-year Red Shield Unit Replacement Limited Warranty. This warranty ensures you receive a replacement unit if a major component fails within the specified period. However, you must register the product with Bryant within 90 days of installation to receive the full warranty benefits. Failure to register the product reduces the warranty period from 10 years to five.
Bryant’s reasonable pricing stands out from the competition. The company offers more compact heating units, ideal for apartments or condos, starting at $2,000. Additionally, some of its gas furnaces only cost up to $4,500. Compared to Lennox or Carrier, Bryant offers highly competitive pricing for standard furnace options.
York is one of the most experienced companies in the home heating industry, and it has a long history of producing high-quality, energy-efficient and quiet heating units. As one of the largest air conditioning and heating unit manufacturers, York is known for its innovative, space-saving solutions.
York offers packaged heating and cooling units that encapsulate all essential components within a singular, compact cabin. Some of its high-end gas furnaces also come with variable-speed blower motors. In addition to its limited warranties, we like that York provides links to rebates that its 30-plus furnace options qualify for on its website.
Some of the furnaces York produces have lower reliability ratings compared to other brands. Keep in mind that York units are only sold and installed by independent or authorized dealers. As a result, its dealer network is comparatively smaller than that of large retailers, such as Carrier. Therefore, in some regions, there may be a limited number of qualified York dealers.
Johnson Controls Inc., the parent company of York, has an A+ rating and is accredited with the BBB. However, we noticed that only one customer review was available on its website, which pertained to security products and a transferred HVAC system.
Upon further research, we found a Reddit thread from 2023 where customers shared their experiences with York HVAC products. Most of the comments suggested that York provides subpar products that don’t last and develop issues quickly. However, we had a hard time finding a wide sample of reviews for this brand, so we don’t recommend basing your decision solely on these sentiments.
York’s most efficient heating units reach up to 97.7% AFUE.
It is worth noting that the warranties York offers for its furnaces differ depending on the model. As a general rule, York provides a 10-year limited warranty on parts. Additionally, unlike most other manufacturers, York includes a one-year labor warranty with all of its equipment. To be eligible for the maximum warranty, you must register any York equipment within 90 days of installation.
According to York’s website, its heating units range from $4,500–$9,000. A standard York furnace with a 96% AFUE rating costs closer to $5,200.
Trane is a reliable option for those who want a secure investment. The company offers a 20-year heat exchanger warranty and a 10-year parts and labor warranty, which is more comprehensive than other brands. Trane gas furnaces have a sturdy design with heavy-gauge, two-tone powder-painted cabinets. They provide quality gas and oil furnaces with up to 97.3% AFUE.
Trane is a good choice for those interested in smart-home features. Its furnaces have variable-speed technology that continuously communicates with other HVAC system parts to ensure efficient performance and energy savings. Additionally, Trane’s thermostat optimizes efficiency by providing real-time diagnostics, humidity controls and automatic temperature adjustments.
As a premium furnace brand, Trane’s products come at a higher price point than its competitors. One of the advantages of Trane is that it can integrate its system with its ComfortLink II smart thermostat. However, some of Trane’s more high-end units require you to have that specific thermostat to operate. If you decide to purchase one of these units, you must undergo a complete AC system overhaul that includes installing the thermostat.
Trane has a B rating with the BBB, but it’s not accredited. The company has a low customer review score and doesn’t actively engage with customers on the BBB site. However, Trane has a nearly 3-star rating on Trustpilot, albeit from only three reviews. Many customers have praised Trane’s good product quality, but some have complained about difficulty ordering replacement parts or scheduling repairs.
As mentioned above, Trane’s furnaces can reach up to 97.3% AFUE. They also include modulating heating stages. This feature provides optimal comfort control and continual warmth, especially when using Trane’s ComfortLink II smart thermostat.
Trane provides better warranties than other furnace brands, with a 12-year compressor and a 10-year parts and labor warranty included with many of its units. In addition, Trane offers a transferable system warranty, which means that if you decide to sell your home, the warranty will still be valid for the new owners. To us, this displays Trane’s confidence in its product.
Trane offers units at a wide range of prices, starting from $3,000 and reaching up to $15,500. The more expensive units come with additional features, such as variable-speed motors, which not all homeowners may need.
When choosing a new heating unit, consider unit size, efficiency features, sound ratings and your budget.
Determining the appropriate size furnace for your home is essential to ensuring you can control the temperature and use energy efficiently. The key factors to consider are square footage, materials and climate.
Generally, you need 20 British thermal units (BTUs) of heating power per square foot for an average-size, moderately insulated home. Therefore, for a 2,000-square-foot house, a furnace with around 40,000 BTUs would be appropriate. However, you may need 25–30 BTUs per square foot for poorly insulated or drafty homes.
The number of stories and the layout of your home also matter. For example, ranch-style homes require more heating power than multilevel houses that retain heat better upstairs. Similarly, the colder your winter climate, the more heating power you’ll need for sufficient warmth.
While most HVAC contractors use sophisticated manuals and load-calculating software to determine the exact furnace size you’ll need based on thermal dynamics, the above rules provide a reasonable estimate. Oversizing a furnace leads to energy inefficiency and uneven heating, while undersizing causes it to overwork in meeting temperature demands.
When choosing a new furnace, one of the most crucial factors to consider is its efficiency. The efficiency rating you select can significantly impact your energy costs, your comfort and the environment.
An Energy Star rating is the EPA’s trusted benchmark for appliance efficiency. You’ll notice a blue Energy Star logo on certain furnace models when shopping. This logo represents the most energy-efficient models on the market that also meet strict performance guidelines.
To earn Energy Star certification, a gas furnace must have an AFUE rating of at least 95%, several percentage points higher than federal minimum standards. This implies that at least 95 cents of every dollar spent on fuel is converted into usable heat instead of wasted energy. Oil furnaces, on the other hand, must achieve an 85% AFUE to meet Energy Star requirements.
Besides exceptional AFUE ratings, Energy Star furnaces must pass third-party testing to verify the performance of real-world temperature control, reliability and quality.
The primary metric to understand is the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE), which measures the percentage of fuel that is converted into usable heat based on standardized testing. AFUE ratings range from 80% at the low end to 98% for the highest efficiency models, with most furnaces having ratings between 80% and 95%.
As a general rule, selecting the furnace with the highest AFUE rating within your budget is advisable. Upgrading from an 80% AFUE model to a 95% AFUE model can lower your annual heating costs by 15%–30%, resulting in thousands of dollars in lifetime savings for homeowners. Moreover, high-efficiency furnaces consume less energy, reducing your property’s carbon footprint, an essential sustainability consideration.
When choosing a furnace for your home, it is crucial to account for its sound rating, which is measured in decibels (dB). Understanding furnace sound ratings can help you pick a quieter model that will provide greater comfort.
Furnace sound ratings range from 50 to 80 dB. A rating of 50 dB is similar to a typical conversation, while 80 dB is as loud as a garbage disposal. Exposure to sound levels over 60 dB can be disruptive, so lower sound levels are preferable.
Most furnaces have sound ratings between 60 and 70 dB while operating. Premium models with insulated cabinets, multispeed fans and vibration-dampening mounts can achieve outstandingly quiet 50 dB ratings. If noise concerns you, look for a sound rating that is at or below 60 dB.
When budgeting for a new furnace, consider both purchase price and long-term operating costs. While an initial furnace investment may seem high, choosing an efficient model saves you money for years through lower energy bills.
When buying a furnace, it’s important to consider the upfront cost, potential utility savings and the cost of future repairs. A furnace with an Energy Star certification and a high-efficiency rating of 95% AFUE can save you 15%–30% on fuel costs compared to a standard 80% AFUE model. Over a life span of 15–20 years, you can save thousands of dollars in energy costs by investing in a more efficient furnace.
Also, consider the cost of repairs and replacement when thinking about the total cost. Choosing a reputable brand with a long warranty can help prevent unexpected breakdowns that require urgent fixes. Investing in a top-tier unit allows homeowners to go for years without worrying about surprise furnace issues.
We find that Carrier offers some of the best all-around furnaces. It offers high AFUE ratings, quality customer service, and various features and models. If you’re concerned about getting the highest AFUE rating possible, consider Lennox’s 99% models. We also know that budget is a big concern when replacing a furnace, so we suggest Bryant for high-quality yet competitively priced furnaces.
Consult a local HVAC technician to determine the appropriate size heating unit for your home. We recommend obtaining at least three quotes from different furnace brands to help you identify the one that suits your budget and heating needs.
We research and rate HVAC brands and companies to connect you with the right providers for your heating and cooling replacements and repairs. We examine a company’s reputation and customer reviews, energy-efficiency ratings, product and upgrade options, warranties, pricing, customer service and more.
Our detailed rating system helps us objectively review and compare HVAC providers. Companies are scored out of a possible 100 points, and that total is then divided by 20 to achieve the 5-star rating we include in our reviews.
BBB and Trustpilot ratings are accurate as of January 2024.
Editorial note: The name “Homefront” refers to the alliance between USA TODAY and Home Solutions that publishes review, comparison, and informational articles designed to help USA TODAY readers make smarter purchasing and investment decisions about their home. Under the alliance, Homefront provides and publishes research and articles about home service and home improvement topics.
Homefront has an affiliate disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Homefront editorial staff alone (see About Homefront). Homefront adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is believed to be accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.
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