Rheem Furnace Guide: Prices, Cost, Models, Reviews, Warranty, Efficiency Ratings, and Filter Compatibility
October 23, 2026
How Much Does A Rheem Furnace Cost?
A Rheem gas furnace typically costs $2,500 to $7,800 installed. The series you pick drives most of that price, and labor usually makes up $1,600 to $3,700 of it.
- Classic: one heat level, 92% or 95% AFUE, about 2,500–4,500
- Classic Plus: two heat levels, 80% to 97% AFUE, about 3,100–5,500
- Prestige: adjusts heat in small steps, 97% or 98% AFUE, about 3,700–7,800
AFUE is the share of fuel that becomes heat. Whichever Rheem you choose, it runs on an air filter, so take the quick quiz below to find the one that fits yours.
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Prices from 2025–2026 contractor pricing surveys. Filterbuy isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Rheem.
A Rheem furnace typically costs $2,500 to $7,800 installed, based on published 2025 and 2026 contractor pricing surveys. Rheem's current gas lineup runs from 80% to 98% AFUE, the share of fuel that becomes heat in your home, across the Classic, Classic Plus, and Prestige series. As an air filter manufacturer, Filterbuy also covers a part furnace guides often skip: the filter your Rheem will use for the next 15 years or more.
TL;DR
Rheem gas furnaces are mid-priced heating systems sold and installed by HVAC contractors. Plan on roughly $2,500 to $4,500 installed for a basic Classic model and up to about $7,800 for a top Prestige model. Pick your installer before your series, and have the filter size written on your invoice.
Key Takeaways
Rheem sells three gas furnace series: Classic runs at one heat level, Classic Plus at two, and Prestige adjusts in small steps to match demand.
For the same heat, a 98% furnace uses only about 3% less gas than a 95% model, so Prestige's extra cost buys comfort more than savings.
Rheem model numbers spell out the specs. An R97MV is a 97% AFUE furnace that adjusts its heat in small steps.
Rheem's warranty covers parts for up to 10 years and the heat exchanger, the part that heats your air, for a limited lifetime. Registration is required.
Rheem filter cabinets take a thick filter ordered by nominal size. Filterbuy makes all three sizes in MERV 8, 11, and 13 capture ratings.
What Is a Rheem Furnace?
A Rheem furnace is a home heating unit built by Rheem Manufacturing Company, an Atlanta-based maker of water heaters and HVAC equipment. Rheem gas furnaces run on natural gas, or on propane with a conversion kit. You'll buy one installed through an HVAC contractor, and sister brand Ruud sells closely matched models.
How Much Does a Rheem Furnace Cost?
A new Rheem gas furnace typically costs $2,500 to $7,800 installed, according to published 2025 and 2026 contractor pricing surveys. Labor usually accounts for $1,600 to $3,700 of that.
Rheem listings checked October 2026. Costs from 2025–2026 contractor pricing surveys.
Efficiency tier often moves a Rheem quote the most. Furnaces rated 90% AFUE or higher are condensing models, which pull extra heat from their exhaust. They need plastic PVC venting and a drain line, and that adds labor when one replaces an older 80% unit. Capacity, ductwork, permits, and labor rates make up the rest.
Budget without a federal tax credit. The IRS Energy Efficient Home Improvement Credit covered improvements made through December 31, 2025, so a 2026 installation doesn't qualify. Ask your utility about local rebates.
Which Rheem Gas Furnace Models Are Available?
Rheem's current Endeavor Line, its name for this product family, includes ten core gas furnace models. Classic models run at one heat level (92% or 95% AFUE), Classic Plus models at two levels (80% to 97%), and Prestige models modulate in small steps (97% or 98%).
How to Read a Rheem Furnace Model Number
At Filterbuy, we decoded Rheem's current model numbers. The two digits after the R are the AFUE rating. The next character is the heat staging: 1 for one level, 2 for two levels, and M for modulating.
The last letter is the blower motor. V means a constant CFM motor, a variable-speed fan that holds airflow steady. T means a constant torque motor, a simpler efficient fan. So an R972V is a 97% AFUE, two-stage furnace with a constant CFM motor. The R96T is the one model that skips the staging character.
How Efficient Are Rheem Furnaces?
Rheem gas furnaces range from 80% to 98% AFUE. Nine of the ten current models are condensing furnaces rated 92% or higher.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that older, low-efficiency heating systems run at 56% to 70% AFUE, while modern high-efficiency systems reach 90% to 98.5% AFUE.
ENERGY STAR requires gas furnaces to reach 97% AFUE or higher in the northern U.S. and 95% AFUE or higher in the southern U.S., according to its furnace key product criteria. By those thresholds, the R98MV, R97MV, and R972V meet the northern bar, and the 95% and 96% models meet the southern bar.
Federal efficiency standards finalized in 2023 require non-weatherized gas furnaces to reach 95% AFUE starting in December 2028, as the Appliance Standards Awareness Project summarizes. In April 2026, DOE published a petition to delay the furnace compliance date that asks for an extension to at least January 1, 2030.
What AFUE Differences Mean for Your Gas Use
For the same heat, gas use scales with AFUE. Here's Filterbuy's math:
A 95% furnace uses about 37% less gas than a 60% furnace from the era before condensing models.
A 96% furnace uses about 17% less gas than an 80% furnace.
A 98% furnace uses only about 3% less gas than a 95% furnace.
Our take: the big savings come from switching to a condensing furnace. Choose a modulating Prestige for steadier, quieter heat, not for the last few efficiency points.
What Does the Rheem Furnace Warranty Cover?
Rheem's Endeavor Line gas furnaces carry up to a 10-year limited parts warranty, a limited lifetime heat exchanger warranty, and, on qualifying models, a 10-year conditional unit replacement warranty. Rheem requires registration for the conditional coverage, and exact terms vary by model.
Register as soon as the furnace is installed. Manufacturer coverage usually doesn't include labor, so ask whether your quote includes a labor warranty.
Are Rheem Furnaces Good? What Reviews Tell You
Rheem is a mid-priced brand, but owner reviews of any furnace often reflect the installer as much as the equipment. Our take: choose the installer first and the series second.
Four checks before you sign a Rheem quote:
Ask for a Manual J load calculation, a room-by-room estimate of your home's heating needs, instead of a size matched to your old furnace.
Look up the exact model number and its certified AFUE in the AHRI Directory, the industry's database of certified ratings.
Ask who registers the warranty, and get confirmation in writing.
Ask the installer to write the filter size and cabinet part number on the invoice.
Which Air Filter Fits a Rheem Furnace?
Finding the right filter for a Rheem furnace is quick. Start with the size printed on the frame of your current filter. If there's no filter in place, measure the slot, and our furnace filter size guide shows you how.
Many installations use a 1-inch filter in a return grille or a rack beside the blower. Others use a Rheem media filter cabinet, a housing beside the furnace that holds a thicker pleated filter. Filterbuy makes compatible filters for three of these cabinets. The sizes are 17.5 x 21 x 4.5 for RXHF-E17AM10 and RXHF-E17AM13, 21 x 21 x 4.5 for RXFH-E21AM10 and RXFH-E21AM13, and 21 x 24.5 x 4.5 for RXHF-E24AM10 and RXHF-E24AM13.
Those are nominal sizes, the names you order by. The actual filter is cut slightly smaller, about 4 3/8 inches deep, and that clearance is what lets it slide into the cabinet. Match your cabinet's part number and you'll get the right fit. If your size isn't listed, Filterbuy cuts custom air filters to the eighth of an inch.
Each cabinet size comes in MERV 8, 11, and 13, such as this 21 x 21 x 4.5 filter for Rheem RXFH-E21 cabinets. Filterbuy's MERV 8 vs MERV 11 vs MERV 13 guide compares the three in depth.
MERV 8 vs MERV 11 vs MERV 13 for Rheem Furnaces
As with size, check your Rheem installation manual to confirm which MERV ratings fit your system.
EPA guidance on MERV ratings recommends MERV 13 or higher for homes and suggests asking an HVAC technician which filter is right for your system.
Change 1-inch and 2-inch pleated filters every 30 to 90 days, and check thicker cabinet filters regularly. Our furnace filter replacement schedule walks through the timing. Over a 15-year furnace life, that 1-inch schedule adds up to roughly 60 to 180 filters, so it's worth settling the filter setup before the furnace goes in.
Filterbuy isn't affiliated with or endorsed by Rheem or Ruud. Rheem part numbers appear here for compatibility only.
"If your furnace or boiler is old, worn out, inefficient, or significantly oversized, the simplest solution is to replace it with a modern high-efficiency model."
U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Saver guidance on furnaces and boilers
Supporting Statistics
Space heating uses 42% of U.S. home energy. It's the largest home energy use, per the U.S. Energy Information Administration (2020 data).
Gas heats 41% of new single-family homes started in 2024. Gas heat remains mainstream in new construction, per a National Association of Home Builders analysis of Census data.
Furnaces typically last 15 to 25 years. That range assumes regular recommended maintenance, per the InterNACHI home life expectancy chart.
How We Built This Guide
We checked Rheem's current gas furnace listings in October 2026.
We cross-checked installed prices across two 2025–2026 contractor pricing surveys.
We read DOE's Federal Register notice on the 2028 standard directly.
We matched each Rheem media cabinet part number to the replacement size in our own filter catalog.
David Clark, a licensed HVAC technician, reviewed the technical content.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is the Most Efficient Rheem Furnace?
The Rheem R98MV is the most efficient model in the current gas lineup at 98% AFUE.
What Size Filter Does a Rheem Furnace Take?
A Rheem furnace takes either a 1-inch filter sized to its grille or rack, or a thick filter matched to its media cabinet's part number. An RXFH-E21 cabinet, for example, takes a 21 x 21 x 4.5 filter.
Where Do I Find My Rheem Furnace Model Number?
Look for the rating plate, a label usually inside the furnace's front access panel. The two digits after the R give the AFUE rating.
What MERV Rating Should I Use in a Rheem Furnace?
MERV 8 is the standard choice for most homes, MERV 11 suits allergy sufferers and homes with pets, and MERV 13 is the pick for smoke season. As with size, check your Rheem installation manual to confirm fit.
Glossary
AFUE: Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, the share of fuel a furnace turns into heat.
AHRI Directory: The industry database of certified HVAC equipment ratings.
Condensing Furnace: A furnace that pulls extra heat from its exhaust, typically rated 90% AFUE or higher.
Constant CFM Motor: A variable-speed blower that holds airflow steady, marked V in Rheem model numbers.
Constant Torque Motor: A simpler efficient blower, marked T in Rheem model numbers.
Endeavor Line: Rheem's current residential HVAC product family.
Heat Exchanger: The sealed part that transfers burner heat to your home's air.
Media Filter Cabinet: A housing beside the furnace that holds a thick pleated filter.
MERV: Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, a 1 to 16 rating of how much a filter captures.
Modulating Furnace: A furnace that adjusts its heat in small steps.
Nominal Size: The rounded size you order a filter by.
Two-Stage Furnace: A furnace with a low and a high heat setting.
Keep your Rheem furnace running on a clean filter. Filterbuy cuts, pleats, and frames filters to order in its own US plants. That includes MERV 8, 11, and 13 filters for Rheem cabinets and 1-inch slots, with fast and free 2-day delivery to most US states. Shop replacement filters for Rheem furnaces and set up Auto Delivery for scheduled replacements.