Before winter starts each year, we encourage—well, we urge—our customers to schedule furnace maintenance with professional HVAC technicians. The reason for this is because a maintenance tune-up helps our technicians spot small problems before they grow into much bigger emergency needs. The last thing you want is to be stuck with a broken down heater right when you need it the most, right?
Just like any other large appliance or piece of equipment, though, your furnace won’t last forever—even with maintenance! So, at what point do you stop depending on maintenance tune-ups and furnace repair in Spokane, WA, and instead choose to replace your furnace altogether? This is a question we’re going to answer below, and it’s probably the biggest question you’ll ever have to face with your furnace system. Fortunately, you aren’t alone in making this decision—our team is here to help you make an informed choice.
Heed These Signs of a Furnace in Disrepair
As we stated above, we can help you make an educated choice on whether or not your furnace is ready to be replaced. Every home and every heating system is different, and it may be possible for us to help you get at least one more season out of yours with a few repairs, but we will never recommend this if it is unsafe or drastically inefficient to do so. In the meantime, keep reading for a few tell-tale signs of a furnace in disrepair:
- Old Age: Simply put, this is the best measurement in determining if your furnace should be replaced. The average natural-gas powered furnace is designed to last approximately 15 years, while electric systems can usually go a tad bit longer. But over two decades? This is definitely beyond the breaking point. We generally recommend that if your furnace is 15 years old, or older, then you have it inspected to see if it is, in fact, a candidate for replacement.
- Frequent Repairs: Your furnace is going to accumulate wear and tear throughout its years of use, this is just a given. However, if you find yourself increasingly calling for repairs—as in once every few months rather than every couple of years, then it’s time to consider how economically sound of a decision continued repairs would be. Typically, if your next repair (or series of repairs) is going to cost you half of what a new furnace is worth, then you should go with the new system—it generally makes more financial sense to do so.
- Drop in Efficiency: With routine maintenance, your heater should be able to retain 95% of the efficiency it started out with upon installation. So if you’re looking at your winter energy bills and notice they’re drastically higher than they were last year despite comparable use, there’s a problem. This is a huge warning sign that your furnace isn’t working as efficiently as it once was, and is thus approaching the end of its lifespan.