I live in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in a house built 1917 circa. Heat is by a large gas floor furnace in a hall that connects the dining room, a bathroom, and two bedrooms. In the living room is a gas log and in the kitchen is a room air/heating unit. We've lived there since 1997 and the floor furnace has never given us problems until this year. We learned that the pilot generator and gas valve need to be replaced for about $500.00.

I'm wondering if investing in an energy efficient heating system would be preferable to repairing the floor furnace, which appears to have been manufactured in 1992.

Another option is to buy two small electric heaters because my husband and I are both hot natured and prefer less heat than most people. For example, we usually do not sleep with any heat on and would turn the furnace on for just an hour or two in the morning and evening on particularly cold days.

Where I live NG floor heaters have been illegal for years, I haven't even seen one since around 1989. I don't know your square footage or electric rates. But it seems to me, for $500, you can run a couple electric baseboard heaters for years in Baton Rouge. Personally if I had an old AC unit I would just replace it with a heat pump.