During the winter heating season, the health and operation of your home’s furnace is obviously vital to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace difficulties, you might be wondering whether it is ultimately more sensible to repair or replace your furnace. There are several factors that will determine which option is best for you. Your Philadelphia area HVAC technician can help you judge your needs and your struggling HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the appropriate short- and long-term answer for your Philadelphia home.
When Repair Is Best
Oftentimes, furnace troubles can be easily identified and repaired by a ACE-certified, HVAC professional. If your furnace is new—i.e., less than 10 years of system life — it stands a very good chance that any issues it experiences can be solved through repair. Furthermore, if your furnace is still heating your Philadelphia area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you verify 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 deemed operationally sound. Conventional wisdom relating to furnace repairs is that if the repairs you require are less than one-third of the investment of a new heating system and your furnace is in the first half of its predicted lifetime, repair is likely your best option. Remember that even if you are experiencing a drop in heating efficiency, there are other routes you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC service advisor about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Philadelphia home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these HVAC products could advance the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will add years of quality service from your furnace and help you prevent further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
Sometimes, repair will not be able to affordably resolve your issues. The expected lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; thereafter, 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 need your HVAC service provider for repairs on a regular basis, this could also be a sign that your furnace is beyond help and requires a replacement. Although repairs may seem like a simple fix, if they aren’t keeping your furnace running for years at a time, these frequent smaller charges ultimately cost you more money. There are several things that may determine whether replacement is appropriate 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. In addition, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized properly for your Philadelphia 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 Philadelphia home’s heating system is right for you, contact Stallion Heating Plumbing Air Conditioning today.