During the winter heating season, the health and operation of your home’s furnace is obviously critical to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace troubles, you may be wondering whether it’s in your best interests to repair or replace your furnace. There are several factors that will decide upon which option is best for you. Your Ravenna area HVAC professional can help you evaluate your needs and your current HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the appropriate short- and long-term answer for your Ravenna home.
When Repair Is Best
Oftentimes, furnace troubles can be easily diagnosed and repaired by a ACE-certified, HVAC professional. If your furnace is new—i.e., less than 10 years of system life — chances are very good that any issues it has can be solved through repair. Furthermore, if your furnace is still heating your Ravenna area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you determine this), then it is still in your best interest to repair it. Typically, as long as you are not seeing a continuous increase in your heating bills with continual usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is considered in good shape. A good general rule of thumb about furnace repairs is that as long as the repairs you need are less than one-third of the cost 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 paths you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC professional about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Ravenna home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these HVAC products could improve the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will add years of quality service from your furnace and help you avoid further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
Eventually, repair will not be able to affordably resolve your issues. The expected lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after which, the heating system will begin to fail more and more often. Accordingly, if your furnace is nearing or passed the 15 year mark, it is time to think about replacement. Beyond the factor of the age of your equipment, if you’ve been calling your HVAC service provider for repairs frequently, this could also be a sign that it’s time to consider replacement. Although repairs may seem like a basic fix, if they aren’t keeping your furnace running for years at a time, these frequent smaller charges can add up quickly and cost you more in the long run. There are a variety of things that may determine whether replacement is best for you including the quality of your original furnace installation and the capacity of your furnace. Installation means everything in terms of furnace effectiveness. Furthermore, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized properly for your Ravenna 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 Ravenna home’s heating system is right for you, contact Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning today.