top 5 reasons to replace your furnace
- Your Furnace has stopped working
Is your furnace more than 10 years old and in need of a repair to operate correctly for you? While every furnace can be repaired, that may not always be in your best interests. There are over a dozen components inside a modern furnace, any one of which can prevent your furnace from operating. The most common reason for a major part failure on your 10-year-old furnace is due to poor installation practices when your furnace was new. In that case, any repairs made will continue to be a weak point in the future. Since your best industry warranties will only cover parts for up to 10 years, you may be better off having a qualified contractor install a new system properly. For many, the security of a new 10-year warranty is worth the added expense of replacement over repair options. But always be suspicious of a technician who says you MUST replace your furnace. This person is most likely a commissioned sales person who is not qualified or capable of accurately diagnosing or repairing your furnace!
- Your home feels warm… then cold… then warm… then cold…
Does it feel like your home is never at the temperature you set your thermostat to? Do you constantly feel like you are too warm, then too cold, then back and forth all day long? That is most likely because your existing furnace is too large for your home or the current heating requirement.
Your older furnace only has two settings. On and Off. That’s great when the outside temps are well below freezing. But what about a pleasant 45 degree Colorado spring day? We still want a little heat to be cozy, but not a huge blast furnace! A modern furnace can adjust its heat output based on the actual needs of your home allowing you to perfectly maintain your ideal comfort level.
Be sure your new furnace is properly sized for your home. A good technician or estimator will measure your home heating and cooling requirements with a form called a Manual J. This is a complex engineering formula we use to determine the exact BTU requirements to maintain proper temperatures and comfort levels in your home. If someone tells you they know what you need based on the square footage of your home, then they are only guessing!
- Each floor of your home has its own weather system
Many homes experience poor airflow creating uncomfortable temperature changes from one room to another or from the basement to the upstairs bedrooms. There are many causes for this situation and many ways to resolve them too. In many cases, your home may need additional return air (the air your furnace sucks in to heat) or supply air (where the conditioned air blows into your home) to get proper air circulation through your home. Simply running the fan on your furnace can help spread and even the temperatures throughout your home. With your older furnace, that may mean your fan is blowing too hard to be comfortable or is simply too expensive to run all the time. A modern furnace blower motor can operate at an 87% lower cost of operation and vary the speed it moves the air at to ensure optimal comfort. Replacing the furnace is often times more desirable than extensive duct work modifications and in-home construction.
- My furnace works great! I hear it running all night long!
Some people like the comforting rumble of a big old loud furnace. It just sounds hot! Besides, how would you know if the furnace was working if the floor didn’t vibrate like that?
Most modern furnaces are designed with more than just heat in mind. Properly installed furnaces are quiet and isolated from your duct work preventing noise and vibration from echoing throughout your home. If it sounds like a plane is taking off from your basement every time the heat turns on, it might be time to consider your options.
- Cost of operation
Yes, that 50-year-old furnace is still heating up your home. Sure you need a sweater most mornings but that’s ok with you. No need to replace something that still works, right? Did you know that the older style furnaces can lose up to ¼% of efficiency for every year they run? That means that many of our old furnaces are operating at as little as 50% efficiency. What that means for you is that for every dollar you spend with the gas company, only half of it is used to heat your home while the other $.50 of every dollar just goes out the flue pipe. A modern furnace can capture up to 98% of the heat created and use it to heat your home saving you a considerable amount of money over the life of the furnace.
Simply put, there are a number of ways to know it is time to replace your furnace. It is important that you the homeowner find a trusted partner in the Heating and Cooling industry to help you through these questions. Asking an expert can save you thousands of dollars and unlimited headaches for years to come! An honest company will never charge you to evaluate your particular situation and show you the options available to you.
Now, how do you know if you have called a reputable company and they sent you a skilled technician? Well that’s a topic for another post!