Highest-Rated Furnace Brands for 2021

If you’ve spent any time furnace shopping, you’ve probably already run head-first into the shocking number of brands and models available. It can be difficult for the average homeowner to tell one furnace from another, especially because so many brands are made by a relatively small number of manufacturers.

One way to focus your decision-making is to look at a single feature, such as energy efficiency, and identify the brands and models you’d like to consider. To that end, we’ve combed through the Energy Star Most Efficient Furnaces list for 2021, taking the many models and sorting them into the most well-known brand names. We’ll highlight the various lines of furnaces and show how they connect to these familiar brands.

Before we start, it’s important to understand Energy Star ratings. They’re the definitive source for furnace efficiency, expressed by its annual fuel-utilization-efficiency (AFUE) rating. The AFUE shows what percentage of fuel a furnace converts into heat. So a furnace with a 97 rating is 97 percent efficient.

Carrier

Carrier is a well-known premium brand in heating and air conditioning, operating under United Technologies Corporation (UTC). Carrier is known for high-end furnaces and easy-to-use customer controls.

The Carrier 59MN7 Infinity 98 Series includes a model with an astonishing 98.5 AFUE. Carrier’s premium line of furnaces also features the Infinity Touch control, allowing homeowners to control temperature, humidity, ventilation, airflow and indoor air quality in up to eight zones.

Bryant is likely the second-best known brand under the UTC umbrella. Their Bryant 987M Evolution System Series also has a maximum of 98.5 AFUE, securing them a spot on Energy Star’s Most Efficient Furnace list.

International Comfort Products (ICP) brands are also owned by UTC. The multiple ICP brands on the Most Efficient list offer similar features and interface, including the following:

• Airquest;
• Arcoaire;
• ComfortMaker;
• Day & Night;
• Keeprite;
• Tempstar;

Kenmore is well-known from its long-term connection to Sears. The two were associated for so long that many people used the names almost interchangeably. Today, a number of other companies manufacture Kenmore products. UTC makes Kenmore furnaces, which are still primarily sold through Sears.

Daikin

Daikin, a Japanese company, began manufacturing furnaces in the 1950s. Three series from Daikin made the list: the DC97MC, the DM97MC and the DM97MC.

Goodman is a U.S.-based company founded more than three decades ago and purchased by Daikin in 2012. Their components and manufacture are similar to the primary Daikin brand. The Goodman GCVM97 and GMVM97 series feature units with up to 98 AFUE.

Lennox

AirEase was created by Lennox Furnace company as an alternate to their primary line of furnaces. With almost a century of history behind them, modern AirEase furnaces are assembled in South Carolina. The AirEase Pro Series A97USMV has a 97 AFUE.

Armstrong was created around the same time as AirEase (in the 1920s) by Lennox to distinguish their product lines. Today they are still in business, and the Armstrong Air A97USMV makes the list with 97 AFUE.

Lennox is, of course, the flagship brand for Lennox Furnaces. With a wide range of selections, the Lennox SL297NV Ultra Series, SLP98V Series, and SLP99V Series all made the Energy Star Most Efficient list.

Rheem was founded in the 1920s by Edwin Ruud. Today it’s a well-established and well-regarded brand. Rheem has two series of furnaces on the Energy Star Most Efficient list, the Prestige R97V and the Prestige R98V, with 97 and 98 AFUEs, respectively.

Ruud is the budget line from Rheem. Named after Rheem’s founder, it has two series on the list: the U97V and U98V. Both feature the same touchscreen EcoNet thermostat/control center as the Rheem series mentioned above.

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