Residential Energy Credit

[Kram BergGold]

Would the replacement of the burner componant of an oil furnace with a gas burner qualify for the Energy Credit? Clearly the replacement of the entire furnace counts, my question pertains just to the burner.

[Bees Knees]

The furnace would have to be officially certified to meet certain energy efficient standards. Unless you are in the business of certifying equipment as meeting the standards, you are not qualified to decide whether it is or not.

I tell my clients they need to have written documentation from the company installing the unit that says it qualifies for the energy credit. Even if it does qualify, the taxpayer needs to have some kind of written documentation to prove they are entitled to claim the credit. You can't just assume a new furnace is going to qualify without any documentation from the company selling the unit that says it qualifies.

[Kram BergGold]

Just A Burner Not A Furance

Before I bother my client to check his paperwork, I figured I would make sure that just replacing the burner componant of the furnace even qualifies.

[August @ ADG Financial]

I don't think just a burner won't qualify. But the place to check is:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=Products.pr_tax_credits

[BoPeepJr]

Oil Furnace

How does one convert an oil furnace burner to a natural(or mfg'd) gas burner without a fuel line and meeting all Code Specifications??

[ED SMITH]

How does one convert an oil furnace burner to a natural(or mfg'd) gas burner without a fuel line and meeting all Code Specifications??

I'm not sure what you are getting at here. Codes have nothing to do with improved efficiency, which is what the energy credits are all about. Codes are written to assure safe installations.

[BoPeepJr]

Ed Smith

You are absolutely correct. My point is if you convert a furnace, assuming it's possible to change from heating oil to natural gas, you will create major modifications that will, at the least call for a qualified city or county inspectors' approval before the appliance can be safely operated on the new fuel.

[erchess]

However,

as a tax professional I advise my clients on tax matters and I tend to stay out of other areas where I am less expert and where if I should be sued I do not know whether my professional liability insurance would apply. If a client told me that they had the burner of an oil furnace replaced so that the furnace now burned gas, I would assume that everything else necessary was done and the furnace was properly inspected and was safe and legal to use with gas. I would certainly not be caught advising my clients on what is necessary in order to comply with local codes or in order to be safe. Those are not my fields of expertise so I reasonably rely on the clients and on the professionals who did the furnace work.

[BoPeepJr]

Erchess

Knowing your limitations is commendable and to be respected. I also feel that no advice should be offered without the benefit of expertise in that area. My recommendation was based on the fact that I was employed as a Professional Gas Appliance Serviceman during college and concluded my career as a Federal Tax Field Examiner for over three decades.
Please don't think I offered an opinion by shooting from the hip.