Heating Repair: When Is the Time to Replace Your Furnace?

When winter comes, you'll be glad you have a furnace working overtime on your behalf. So long as the rest of your home is structurally sound, a furnace is all you need to stay nice and warm, no matter what the weather does. That being said, if your furnace needs to be replaced, it's best you act fast. Otherwise, your furnace could be sitting the winter out and costing you lots of money in extra heating repairs.

How Old Is Your Furnace?

If your furnace is older than 15 years, you need to keep your eye out for necessary heating repairs constantly. Most will make it to between 18 and 20 years before they simply can't carry on anymore. However, until then, you still want to look for maintenance issues that will spring up as your furnace goes through double digits.

At some point, though, constantly paying for heating repairs is going to become counterproductive. So when your furnace gets to 15, begin saving money for that new system and start preparing to buy the next time your current unit goes down.

Consider the Price of Repairs

Of course, plenty of people find they need to repair their furnace constantly despite it being relatively young. It's an unfortunate predicament no one wants to be in, but there's no point in ignoring it.

Constantly having to pay for furnace repair services is a tough problem because it's tough to predict if your unit will need more attention in the near future and how much that will go for it.

However, if any one repair costs half as much as the furnace itself-no matter how old it is that's a good time to cut your losses. It's time for a replacement.

Your Heating Bill Is Growing

Another good indication that it may be time for a new system is if your utility bill is showing signs the furnace may not be working. If you consider all other factors and can't think of a single logical reason for why your heating bill would be going up (e.g. drafts, running the heat more often, kids leaving doors open, etc.), this means it's probably your furnace's fault.

This is as good a reason as any to replace it. No amount of furnace repair is going to drastically improve your machine's ability to make better use of your home's electricity. The best thing to do is replace it. Plus, these days, you can find all kinds of Energy Star rated furnaces that will vastly improve your utility bill where heating is concerned.

Talk to a Professional

So long as you choose a qualified contractor, you should feel comfortable asking them about the likelihood that you should replace your unit. Aside from getting an installation fee, they really don't have much reason to lie. In fact, if anything, a new unit that runs better may cut into their business, so it's unlikely they'd try to sell you on a new machine if it wasn't for the best.