As we head into the coldest months of the year, it’s time to fire up the old furnace and make sure it’s ready to get you
through til spring. Emergency furnace repairs in the dead of winter can be costly and sometimes leave you shivering in your home for several days if your repairman can’t make a house call right away. It’s best to check up on your furnace before the temperatures drop too drastically and see if your furnace is prepared to work hard for the next few months.
People often ask us when the best time is for a furnace replacement. As we do our annual inspections on furnaces, we sometimes notice that repairs need to be made to keep the furnace functioning at optimal level. Unfortunately, furnace repairs can be costly, leading you to the question if is it more cost-effective to repair or replace your furnace.
To give you a gauge, most furnaces last around 20 years. If you’ve only had your furnace for 5 or 10 years, you should still be well within the optimal operating time-frame. Your furnace shouldn’t be requiring much more than typical maintenance at this point, and even if something does need a repair, you can feel confident that the rest of the furnace is still in good shape.
If you do have a costly repair, a good rule of thumb is if the cost of the repair is half of the cost of a new furnace (or more), you should replace. The older the furnace is, the more important this rule becomes because you are more likely to start having other repairs that need to be done.
If you’ve noticed your energy bills going up, that might be another good sign you should have a furnace replacement. The older a furnace gets, the less efficient it becomes. So even if you aren’t paying for costly repairs, you might still be losing money by having to pay so much extra to heat your home.
When you’re ready for a furnace replacement, our team at Cool Comfort Heating & Air can help with a complete replacement and installation of your furnace. We look forward to serving you.
