13 Best Natural Gas Furnace | 96% AFUE Or 80,000 BTU — Pick Right

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A wall-hung boiler for homes that heat with water in the floor, not air in the ducts.

If your house uses in-floor radiant tubing or a hydronic loop, you are not shopping for a furnace at all — you need a boiler, and this one delivers 150,000 BTU through a stainless-steel heat exchanger with a modulating wire mesh burner. Modulating means the burner scales its flame up and down to match demand instead of running flat out, which is where the efficiency comes from.

Set your central heating water anywhere between 104°F and 180°F and your domestic hot water between 98°F and 140°F on the digital display. Multizone control lets thermostats and integrated pumps connect straight to the unit. A child-lock shuts central heating off with one press, which is a genuinely useful touch in a house with small kids.

Running costs are the headline for owners. Buyers report lower gas bills in spring, summer and fall, with an expected 2.5-year payback as natural gas prices climb. It measures 18.5 inches wide by 26.4 inches high and weighs 68.3 pounds — light enough for a wall mount, compact enough for a utility space. Rinnai covers the heat exchanger for 12 years on the residential side.

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The solar-friendly RV furnace that barely touches your battery bank.

On a van or camper build running off solar, amp draw decides everything. This unit pulls just 2.7 amps at 12 volts — low enough that a modest battery setup can carry it overnight, which is why it beats a diesel heater for many builders. It puts out 20,000 BTU/h into smaller interiors and vents directly with the exterior cap included.

Performance is what carries this model, and heat output follows close behind. In one custom van build with the 4-inch side duct option, the front top surface reached roughly 130°F after a 20-minute burn-in, and the exterior exhaust stays near silent. The fan sits at ordinary RV noise level, not whisper-quiet but not objectionable either.

The honest catch is up-front prep. Installation is a mixed bag: it needs an interior-mounted wall thermostat sold separately, a two-stage LP regulator, a 3/8-inch FLR gas inlet fitting, a shutoff valve and 18/4 wire. Single-stage regulators have failed to ignite it until swapped. Docs are thin, and there is a burn-off smell for the first 20 minutes that you want to vent outside.

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A compact wall heater that turns one cold room into the warmest spot in the house.

Ten thousand BTU covers roughly 150 to 200 square feet, which makes this the pick for a basement, a drafty living room or a converted garage — not a whole-house solution. It is ventless and ductless, so it mounts on a wall and reuses an existing gas connection with no flue to run through the roof. Draw is just 0.16 amps, so it does not stress a circuit.

Quality is what people notice first, with reliability right behind it. The programmable thermostat display handles adaptive control, and a self-diagnostics routine flags issues before they turn into a cold night. On the safety side you get a flame failure device, an overheat switch, an oxygen depletion sensor and a tilt switch — each one shuts the gas or power off if something is wrong. The cabinet stays cool to the touch and carries a child safety lock.

In one basement that ran 8 to 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the house, it brought the space up to a genuinely livable temperature. The trade-off you should know about is the warranty split: 10 years on the heat exchanger, 5 on parts, but only 2 on labor. It is rated 4.5+ stars from 40+ ratings, and while one listing claims coverage up to around 400 square feet, plan on the official 150 to 200 square foot range.

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Thirty-five thousand BTUs of ducted heat for a rig that has to survive a Wisconsin winter.

The defining spec here is 35,000 BTU/h delivered through ducts rather than straight out of a grille, so warm air reaches the bedroom and the bathroom, not just the hallway vent. It drops into either a vertical or horizontal orientation, which gives you flexibility in a tight RV cavity, and the low-profile body measures 20 by 17 by 7.5 inches at 30.6 pounds.

Ignition is direct spark with sealed, forced-draft combustion, so the burn chamber is sealed off from the living space. That is the same safety architecture Suburban uses across the line. It requires the Suburban #6258xxx exterior access door for outside service access, plus an interior wall thermostat sold separately.

Owners who fitted it as a straight replacement report it keeps up in genuine cold. Fitting it into an existing opening is easy work — one 2009 Puma owner swapped a 35F for this and said it heats great through a Wisconsin winter, with the caveat that it is “not at all quieter than the original furnace.” Weigh the value angle honestly: at 4.0+ stars from 20+ ratings, there are damaged-in-shipping reports and one unit that did not last a season, so check the housing the day it lands.

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Runs on gas alone — no fan, no wiring, no power bill at the cabin.

The whole point of this unit is that it uses no electricity at all. Piezo ignition (a push-button spark, the same idea as a gas grill starter) lights it without a plug, which makes it the natural fit for an ice fishing shack, a cabin or any room that loses power in a storm. It vents directly through an outside wall, so combustion gases leave the building and the room stays breathable.

Its slim cabinet tucks against an exterior wall and comes in a beige textured finish over a cast-iron build. Clearances are spelled out plainly: 12 inches on top, 1 inch to the sides, zero at the bottom, with a 4-1/2 to 13 inch wall depth and a 6-1/4 inch diameter vent opening. The LP gas inlet is a standard 1/2 inch NPT fitting.

The caveat is support and setup. You must buy a thermostat separately — there is no wall thermostat in the box, only the unit’s own controls. The rating sits at 3.5+ stars from 20+ ratings, and the split in those reviews is stark: people replacing a 30-year-old Empire with the same footprint are delighted, while those who hit a stuck pilot report trouble reaching the company. Buy from an authorized dealer if warranty service matters to you.

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Twenty-four thousand BTUs that turn a three-car garage into a sixty-degree workshop.

The FC824N is the bigger sibling to the FC510N, and the jump in output is what sells it: 24,000 BTU instead of 10,000, aimed at larger rooms, workshops and open-plan living spaces. It runs on natural gas, mounts to a wall, and needs no duct or flue work, pulling just 0.24 amps.

Performance is the aspect that wins the most ground with owners, with heat output right behind it. It holds temperature in a fully glazed 20-by-20 room, and one Michigan garage with a 10-foot ceiling sat at 60 degrees “without hardly working at all.” The programmable thermostat and self-diagnostics keep it predictable, and the safety package — flame failure device, overheat switch, oxygen depletion sensor and tilt switch — works the same as on the smaller model.

Two things to go in eyes-open about. The ignition makes a brief buzz when it lights — a couple of seconds, then quiet — and the price puts it at the top of the ventless range. It is rated 4.5+ stars from 80+ ratings, the strongest score among the ventless picks, which is why it can justify the outlay for a room you intend to use every day.

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Quiet, even airflow for a mid-size coach that has to heat without hot spots.

The engineering story here is the heat exchanger, designed to spread air more evenly rather than dumping heat at one end of the coach. That reduces the hot-and-cold corners that plague older RV furnaces, and Dometic claims it heats the coach quicker with less gas along the way. Output sits at 30,000 BTU, which covers medium RVs and trailers without overworking a 12-volt DC system.

Noise is where the design earns its keep. Reduced air turbulence inside means a noticeably calmer blower than the factory furnace it tends to replace. It is also UL listed and certified for safe use in RVs and campers, and installs in either a horizontal or vertical configuration. Weigh it against the Suburban NT-20SEQ and the gap is size and job: the Dometic’s 30,000 BTU handles a medium coach, while the Suburban’s 20,000 BTU is for smaller interiors and van builds.

Here is the honest part. Cost is the most-discussed point in the reviews, and it is not framed as praise — several owners find it expensive, which is a fair read for a premium RV component. Functionality opinions split too, with a few ignition-failure reports after limited use. It is rated 3.5+ stars from 30+ ratings, with the happy cases being drop-in replacements that fit the existing cutout and work all season.

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The standard-efficiency workhorse for mild winters and tighter install budgets.

Eighty percent AFUE means this furnace turns four-fifths of your gas into heat, with the rest leaving through the vent. In a mild climate where the furnace runs fewer hours, that trade is a reasonable one, and it keeps the up-front cost below the condensing models. Output is 80,000 BTU into the same 17.5-inch cabinet width as the higher-efficiency models, so a like-for-like swap is straightforward.

It shares the multi-speed ECM motor with the rest of the Goodman line, which smooths blower speed and calms the airflow noise. The aluminized steel primary heat exchanger is the same construction used across this family, and it is R32-ready — meaning the refrigerant handling is prepped for newer systems.

The install rule is the same as its 96% sibling: upflow or horizontal only, never downflow. If you need a downflow, you have to look for a model beginning with GD9 instead. Accessories like line sets, thermostats and LP conversion kits are sold separately. It holds 4.0+ stars from 10+ ratings, with delivery timing and condition doing most of the talking in the feedback.

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A fifteen-thousand-BTU wall box that heats a cabin without a power feed.

Like the other Empire model here, this one is defined by using no electricity at all — it mounts on an outside wall and vents directly to the outdoors. Fifteen thousand BTU is cabin and camp territory, and it comes in a powder-coated beige cabinet. An optional blower is available as an add-on if you want to push the warm air further than convection carries it.

The strength here is longevity by design. Owners replacing 20- or 30-year-old units find the same model still in production, which is rare in this category. One long-serving swap read: “I wish we had gotten this sooner. It is so much better than our old one.” The control interface is a simple button and touch setup, and it runs off a standard household plug when you do add the blower.

Be realistic about the low points. The rating sits at 3.0+ stars from 20+ ratings, and the criticism is specific: a gas valve that sticks or needs a light, weak thermocouples, and no manufacturer support when purchased direct rather than from an authorized dealer. If you are buying this for a cabin you visit seasonally, the simplicity is a virtue. If you need unattended freeze protection, the valve reliability is the thing to think hard about.

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Same high-efficiency heart as the top pick, sold with nationwide installation support.

This is the same 96% AFUE, 80,000 BTU furnace as our Best Overall, listed by a seller that arranges nationwide installation and excludes California. If the appeals of buying through a seller who coordinates the fit and validates the delivery appeal to you more than shopping the bare box, this is the route. The core hardware is identical: multi-speed ECM motor, aluminized steel heat exchanger, 17.5-inch cabinet.

Owners who took this path describe the experience in shipping and setup terms rather than heating terms. “Installed easily, fired right up. Powerful fan, quiet operation. Very satisfied with initial installation.” That is the pattern in the reviews — quick delivery, a seller who double-checks the drop-off, and a furnace that starts on the first try.

Compare it directly to the 80% model and the efficiency gap is the whole argument: 96% AFUE versus 80% AFUE on 80,000 BTU of output, which is real money over a cold season. It weighs 114 pounds, spec’d at 115 volts, and it holds 4.0+ stars from 60+ ratings. The one gap flagged in feedback is that the horizontal vent kit is not included, so plan to source it.

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Two stages of heat, so the burner idles instead of slamming on and off all day.

Two-stage operation is the difference between a furnace that runs full blast then shuts down, and one that runs low and steady on mild days and only ramps up when it gets genuinely cold. That translates into steadier temperatures room to room and less on-off cycling noise. It sits at 96% AFUE with 80,000 BTU output in a 17.5-inch cabinet, matching the single-stage models on raw heat while adding that comfort layer.

Long-term owners back this one with time rather than a first impression: “Have had it 5 years with zero problems.” A DIY fit can throw a code on first start — one install showed an EAF fault because the R32 sensor defaulted on and triggered mitigation mode without a paired cooling unit, fixed by disabling the A2L function in the menu. Once past that, it ran clean.

The practical trap is that initial setup code, which can look like a fault when it is really a configuration default. It weighs 118 pounds — a touch heavier than the single-stage version at 114 pounds — and it holds 4.0+ stars from 20+ ratings. For cold-climate homes with long heating seasons, the two-stage comfort is worth the step up over “Most Versatile” territory; in a mild climate, the single-stage will feel identical.

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Thirty-eight thousand BTUs of modulating wall heat for a whole small house.

Modulating technology is the spec that makes this unit work for a full home rather than one room: it trims the flame up and down to hold temperature instead of cycling between full heat and off. At 38,400 BTU it can raise a poorly insulated 1,200 square foot house with 10-foot ceilings by 10 degrees in under 15 minutes, and the built-in fan pushes warmth toward the bedrooms, which run slightly cooler but stay comfortable.

The venting is easier than people expect: a single 3-inch hole through the wall, done with a hole saw through vinyl siding and concrete block. In a 24-by-24 detached garage at 37°F outside, it raised the interior from 47°F to 61°F in one hour. It is quiet, has its own built-in thermostat and multi-function timer, and needs no separate wall thermostat. Parent buyers will like the cool-to-the-touch cabinet.

The catch is the thermostat floor: it will not be set below 60°F. That is fine for living spaces and hopeless for a shop where you want a 45°F or 50°F working temperature. It is also the heaviest unit here at 108 pounds and needs 40 inches of front clearance. It holds 4.0+ stars from 20+ ratings, driven almost entirely by how well it modulates and how simple the vent run is.