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Evenly and quietly heating a large home in the California mountains was a challenge for the homeowner, until upgrading to a high-efficiency hydronic forced-air furnace.
Living in Lake Arrowhead, Calif., high in the San Bernadino Mountains, winters can be harsh for residents like Scott Kelly. When it came to heating his four-story home for the last 10 years, Kelly relied on a single-stage furnace that was noisy and heated levels unevenly. He knew it was time for an upgrade.
“When the furnace came on, it was all the way on and when it turned off, it started to get chilly really fast. We basically had different climates in the house. It became overly hot downstairs and still cold upstairs,” Kelly explained. “And it sounded like a jet aircraft engine starting up. When it came on, we couldn’t hear the TV even with the doors closed.”
Kelly started his research, first considering heat pumps, but learned those draw a lot of electricity and would increase his heating bill. He looked at solar panels, deciding against those due to potential roof leaks after installation. He also didn’t feel a two-stage furnace would solve the issue of uneven heat and eventually landed on the Navien NPF hydro-furnace.
The NPF is a modulating furnace with a modulating gas burner designed with a stainless-steel hydronic heat exchanger, condensing technology and a high-efficiency variable capacity blower. Combined, the technologies Navien integrated into the NPF hydro-furnace allow it to operate from 15 to 100% capacity for both natural gas and propane.
After deciding on the NPF hydro-furnace, Kelly turned to Indoor Weather Heating, Air & Refrigeration, Inc., a leading HVAC company in the area. The company, co-owned by Kory Griggs and Alex Novacek, has been installing Navien boilers and water heaters since opening in 2013 and is an Indoor Weather Certified Navien Expert. Adding the NPF hydro-furnace to their product offering was a natural progression of their business.
“Being able to provide our customers with a furnace that has a fully variable ability to heat is a huge deal,” said Novacek. “The gas burns at 97% efficiency, but we can also say the gas valve can slow down its intake, which is an incredible difference in efficiency.”
Combined with the winter cold and sometimes unpredictable electricity, the NPF also gives customers peace of mind, according to Griggs. “It's a reliable source of energy, because we have a lot of snowstorms and we have electrical problems, so a lot of the houses have generators. This furnace can run on a generator but draws almost no electricity.”
An Ultra-Low NOx Solution
California is known for leading the way in initiatives to lower emissions throughout the state, a factor that makes the NPF hydro-furnace an especially attractive option for residents like Kelly. The furnace is ultra-low NOx compliant, so it produces low levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) during operation and reduces pollutants that contribute to smog and respiratory problems. “In San Bernardino County, we're regulated by a strict air quality district. The NPF uses less gas and there is less pollution that goes out into the environment,” Kelly said.
The fact that the NPF hydro-furnace can be ultra-low NOx compliant in a high-altitude location like Lake Arrowhead is particularly impressive to Griggs. “Prior to supplying Navien, we noticed that none of the other ultra-low NOx furnaces were capable of being installed above 4,500 feet. We are at almost 6,000 feet here. So, I was being sold product that wasn't even rated to work where we live. It was very unreliable. Navien figured out how to make ultra-low NOx work at these altitudes and has given me the ability to sleep again on Sunday nights. Every weekend, I was just waiting for that shoe to drop with customer calls.”
Novacek agrees. “Before we would put in an ultra-low NOx furnace and maybe spend three days hoping that we didn't get callbacks for failures that had nothing to do with the way we installed it. Changes in weather would cause them. We've put in about a hundred NPFs and we don't have to worry anymore.”
NPF: Bringing Comfort, Savings to Homeowners
Following the installation of the NPF hydro-furnace, Kelly noticed a significant difference in the heating throughout his home. “We don't even pay attention where we're going anymore. It used to be if we wanted to get warm and it's the middle of winter, we had to go downstairs. Now we don't care because we have three different zones, three different thermostats and the furnace automatically adjusting it to be the same temperature throughout the house. It has dramatically changed our lifestyle.”
The modulating gas valve and the variable speed blower motor work together to produce an even temperature coming out of the supply side. “The heat is better distributed, so our customers don't get the massive temperature spikes of a single-stage furnace. The Navien furnace doesn't do that to us. It allows for a perfectly comfortable home and some of our customers even start to feel more comfortable lowering the temperature a bit,” Griggs explained. “I could be in a house where they used to keep it at 72 degrees or more, and with the NPF, I could easily get that customer to feel as comfortable in the 68-degree range and find some cost savings in their energy bills,”
Kelly has noticed that savings. “Our utility bills have decreased, even though the furnace has maintained an even temperature throughout the house. We'll set the temperature where we want it, and it still costs less to heat the house.”
The high-efficiency variable-speed blower motor has also brought Kelly the quiet operation he was missing with his old furnace. “We don't know it's running. It is such a huge, drastic difference. I've had to sometimes ask, ‘Is it running?’ And I've gotten to the point where I'll look at one of the vents and say, ‘Yeah, everything's fine.’ It's that quiet. We can enjoy the television or music now, so we love it. “
Ease of Installation with Minimal Maintenance
While Griggs and Novacek are pleased that the NPF hydro-furnace is quieter, more comfortable and efficient for their customers, they also appreciate that the unit is easy to install and maintain. “As a business owner and the lead who trains my crew, it's important to me that the furnace is logical, easy to install, and that the company offers us the answers when we need to ask questions. Navien produces the best manuals I've ever seen. Everything you would ever need to know is right there, easy to find, easy to read,” said Griggs.
The NPF hydro-furnace has a unit-mounted control panel and Setup Wizard to guide the installation process. The panel takes the installer step-by-step through the unit’s configuration, including fan speeds, temperature modes, static pressure and more. “The front panel programming, it's very straightforward. It allows us to program a lot easier than before, where it was all dip switches and plugs,” Novacek explained.
The NPF has an ambidextrous installation that allows left-side gas, electrical, and water connections to be converted to the right side, making it easier to retrofit into an existing space.
Maintenance is also simplified with the NPF hydro-furnace.
“You would think living in an environment that is below freezing that you might face water freezing problems. But Navien has designed the whole unit to prevent it from ever icing up. I don't ever worry about it,” Griggs explained. “My whole entire job is to make sure that what we install for our customers works every time, flawlessly, and works for 25 to 30 years. That's the experience we're trying to provide to our customers.”
“Our focus with Navien is on comfort, not just throwing in a new furnace. We’re making the heat in our customers’ houses work like we would want it to work in our house” said Novacek. “The NPF is the only furnace we offer. We have no good, better, best. We have only what I consider the best, because frankly, the NPF is only one that will work.”
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