High-efficiency is not the same as money saving

My new house is the same size and has the same amount of insulation as my old house, but my new house has a high efficiency furnace, while my old house did not. The new house used 109 CCF of natural gas last month (November). The worst month in the old house was 93 CCF (February). I had the furnace inspected/adjusted when I moved in, I don't keep the new house any warmer than the old house, and I don't have a gas stove. Why is the new house with the high efficiency furnace so much worse than the old house? Dollars/insulating factor, is cellulose better than fiberglass? My house will not balance no matter what I do with the ducts in the winter - it feels like there is cold air coming out of the upstairs ducts (upstairs is always cold). Can I do anything to fix this short of ripping out all the old ducts?

1) High-efficiency is not same as money saving >>> think like this: giant refrigerators carry Energy Star label, but do giant refrigerators save money over small refrigerators? Furnace efficiency rating is comparison between similar models >>> it has nothing to do with receiving lower operating cost or burning less gas >>> Check furnace BTUs. I bet it burns high amounts of gas so it heats quickly.

2) Ducts: The heating blower pressurizes ductwork, and air comes out vents according to size of duct, distance from blower, and resistance to air flow. The more wrinkles and turns the duct has, the more resistance to air flow, and the less output of air. Ductwork is also affected by leaks. Did inspector crawl around and test for leaks? Did he note whether you have solid ductwork or flexible ductwork? Flex duct has twists and turns that resist air flow. Is the ductwork insulated? Has the insulation fallen off? You can help yourself by showing photos of duct system to a professional. And you can tape strip of newspaper to long stick and test ducts for air leaks > ask AC man for best duct-sealing tape instead of relying on duct tape which will fail. It sounds like ducts going to second floor were gerrymandered around framing.

3) Insulation: Fiberglass has no R value loss because of compression >>> but blown-in cellulose can fill cracks where fiberglass cannot. Both types of insulation are good. First, add more cellulose to fill cracks, and then add 6-8” fiberglass batts over top with paper-side down. You can distribute and position batts of insulation without crawling to every corner by using long stick with a screw protruding down at the end. Use different size long sticks to slide batts exactly where you want.
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