Your neighbor lives in a 2500-square-foot (about 250 m2) older house heated by natural gas. The current gas heater was installed in the early 1980s and has an efficiency (called the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating, or AFUE) of 65 percent. It is time to replace the furnace, and the neighbor is trying to decide between a conventional furnace that has an efficiency of 80 percent and costs $1500 and a highefficiency furnace that has an efficiency of 95 percent and costs $2500. Your neighbor offered to pay you $100 if you help him make the right decision. Considering the weather data, typical heating loads, and the price of natural gas in your area, make a recommendation to your neighbor based on a convincing economic analysis.

Fanning company is considering the addition of a new product to its cosmetics line. the company has three distinctly different options: a skin cream, a bath oil, or a hair coloring gel. relevant information and budgeted annual income statements for each of the products follow. skin cream bath oil color gel budgeted sales in units (a) 110,000 190,000 70,000 expected sales price (b) $8 $4 $11 variable costs per unit (c) $2 $2 $7 income statements sales revenue (a × b) $880,000 $760,000 $770,000 variable costs (a × c) (220,000) (380,000) (490,000) contribution margin 660,000 380,000 280,000 fixed costs (432,000) (240,000) (76,000) net income $228,000 $140,000 $204,000 required: (a) determine the margin of safety as a percentage for each product. (b) prepare revised income statements for each product, assuming a 20 percent increase in the budgeted sales volume. (c) for each product, determine the percentage change in net income that results from the 20 percent increase in sales. (d) assuming that management is pessimistic and risk averse, which product should the company add to its cosmetics line? (e) assuming that management is optimistic and risk aggressive, which product should the company add to its cosmetics line?