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Okay, tell you what: odds you repair, evens you replace.
Sound like pretty good advice? No way, that’s terrible advice, and the kind that we would never ever give. The fact is, the only way we can ever tell you for sure which option we believe makes the most sense for you is to have a look at your present furnace and see just what kind of shape it’s in. And if that’s what you’re looking for, you can contact us now to make an appointment.
In the meantime, here are some general guidelines on the whole “repair, replace” thing:
Advancing Age. By and large, and furnace that’s at least 10 years old is long past its peak performing years, even if you’ve had it faithfully maintained from one year to the next. How much more does it have left in it? Well, for starters, its average effective lifespan is 15-20 years. If your furnace is in that age range now, you would do well to start thinking about replacing it. That way, you can do so on your terms vs. waiting for it to completely fail when you have no choice but to replace it.
Noisy as all get out. Just because a furnace is making noises that it never did before doesn’t mean it’s ready for the scrap heap. In fact, if your furnace wasn’t properly installed in the first place you could already be hearing the kind of banging, rattling, and popping you shouldn’t have to endure. In addition to poor workmanship, substandard parts, undersize ductwork, and other factors could be causing the noises; but, more often than not, any such problem is highly repairable.
Cracked heat exchanger. While this is something you probably wouldn’t be able to detect on your own, it’s something we routinely look while performing our annual heating system cleanings and inspections. And the reason it’s on our inspection checklist is because a cracked heat exchanger could lead to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide emissions. In this case, the best move is often to replace the heat exchanger if not the entire system.
Climbing utility costs. While it’s true that the older a furnace a gets the less efficient it becomes, and that reduced efficiency leads to higher and higher utility bills, once again replacement may not be your only or even your best option. In fact, the problem could be as simple as a clogged filter, and that’s something you can check and clean yourself. Remember: a clogged filter prevents some or all of the warm air generated by your furnace from doing its job of heating your house, thus making the furnace have to work harder while driving up your energy costs. If, on the other hand, your filter is clean as a whistle and your heating costs are still climbing into the ozone layer, your furnace needs to be thoroughly checked out.
If your furnace is giving you no problems at all, you can help keep it that way by contacting GBT Heating & Cooling for our cleaning and inspection service. Think of it as preventative maintenance that leads to fewer if any repair problems, a longer system lifespan, and lower utility costs. Why not call us today to schedule service or to report whatever problem you might be having. Either way, you can count on GBT Heating & Cooling to get the job done to your complete satisfaction.
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