Amarillo Family Wins Scottco’s Oldest Furnace Contest

Furnaces work overtime to keep your home warm during our chilly Texas Panhandle winters.  But an Amarillo man’s furnace has been working hard for more than 82 years and he has hit the jackpot for it.

Mark Izzard and his vintage 1928 MARS furnace are the winners of Scottco’s 2010 Oldest Furnace Contest.  The contest was held during the month of January to find the oldest working gas-fueled furnace in Amarillo and Canyon. 

“I entered the contest on a lark,” said Mark Izzard. “I knew our furnace was old but I didn’t know how old. This house has been in our family since 1953.  As a kid, I can actually remember crawling underneath the furnace to help my Dad oil the unit and change the filter.”

“The contest was a real eye-opener,” said Cara Hardin from Scottco.  “We received 213 entries and were surprised how many homeowners still rely on old, inefficient and in many cases dangerous furnaces.”

As the winners of the contest, the Izzard family’s furnace will be replaced with a new Trane XV95 furnace.  This is one of the quietest and most efficient furnaces available with an efficiency rating of up to 96.7%. The unit features a variable-speed motor which provides even comfort with two stages of heating, helping eliminate hot and cold spots. 

“Heating equipment is much more efficient than it has been in the past,” said Hardin. “Homeowners with older units could reduce their energy usage by 30 to 60 percent with the installation of a newer furnace.” 

According to Hardin, any furnace more than 20 years old is a prime candidate for replacement, especially if the efficiency was less than 80% when new.  Hardin pointed out as mechanical equipment ages, its performance degrades and becomes less efficient resulting in higher energy consumption and more frequent breakdowns.  “Continued improvements in heating technology and design have created opportunities for homeowners to enhance comfort and lower heating costs at the same time,” said Hardin.

“We are excited to see what impact the new furnace will make,” said Hardin.  “This contest will not only provide a family with a much-needed new heater, but it will also give us a very accurate measurement of potential energy savings.”