When its cold outside, the health and operation of your home’s furnace is obviously fundamental to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace difficulties, you might be wondering whether it’s in your best interests to repair or replace your furnace. There are many factors that will determine which option is best for you. Your North America area HVAC professional can help you judge your needs and your broken HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the ideal short- and long-term answer for your North America home.
When Repair Is Best
In most cases, furnace troubles can be easily sourced and repaired by a ACE-certified, HVAC professional. If your furnace is new—i.e., less than 10 years of system life — odds are highly likely that any issues it has can be solved through repair. On top of that, if your furnace is still heating your North America area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you confirm this), then it is still likely and more affordable to repair it. Usually, as long as you are not seeing a trending increase in your heating bills with continual usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is functioning efficiently. A good general rule of thumb about furnace repairs is that as long as the repairs you need are less than one-third of the expense of a new heating system and your furnace is in the first half of its predicted lifetime, repair is likely your best option. Keep in mind that even if you are experiencing a drop in heating efficiency, there are other paths you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC technician about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your North America home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these enhancement could advance the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will ensure your furnace is in top condition and help you avoid further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
At times, repair cannot restore your heating system to a minimally effective level. The anticipated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after this point, the heating system will start to fail more and more often. Therefore, if your furnace is approaching or past 15 years old, it is time to discuss replacement. Regardless of the age of your furnace, if you’ve been calling your HVAC service provider for repairs too often, this could also be a sign that it’s time to consider replacement. Although repairs may seem like an easy fix, if they aren’t keeping your furnace functioning for years at a time, these frequent smaller charges can add up quickly and cost you more in the long run. There are several things that may determine whether replacement is best for you including the quality of your original furnace installation and the capacity of your furnace. Having your furnace installed properly is critical to the performance of the unit. Also, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized properly for your North America home size or heating needs. If your furnace isn’t sized or installed properly, you should consider replacing the system and starting anew, rather than continually addressing breakdowns and poor function.
If you have questions about whether repair or replacement of your North America home’s heating system is right for you, contact Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning today.