We understand that you want to save some money by holding onto your older heater as long as possible. But at what point does holding onto a failing heater become more troublesome than upgrading to a more efficient system? Check out 4 of the signs that your older heater might be due for a replacement, even if it has not broken down just yet.
You’ve made a lot of repairs in recent years
This is a sign that your heating system just isn’t cutting it. If your system is the wrong size, or if it was not correctly installed in the first place, there may not be much you can do to get the unit into shape. Unfortunately, a faulty installation can mean a premature replacement, even though the system may not be very old.
The system is 15 years old
Once a furnace reaches about 15 years, it may no longer operate as efficiently or as safely as it once did. This means you’re paying a lot more than you have to on your monthly bills. And the chance of a gas leak or carbon monoxide leak, while rare, becomes more of a possibility each year.
A repair will cost you 50% of the price of a new system
You hope that a repair will patch up the problem so that you can continue to run your older heater, but you find out that the price of this repair is quite high. Get a second opinion if you can, but know that a repair that costs about half the price of a new system really isn’t worth it. A bunch of mismatched parts in a furnace won’t run very efficiently anyway, and other parts are bound to break down as well within a short time.
You’ve noticed a decline in performance and efficiency
Annual heating maintenance visits can help to make a heater run more efficiently, but eventually there’s nothing you can do to stop the standard wear and tear that develops with the years. At some point, replacing your furnace and upgrading to a high-efficiency unit is simply the best option.
Call the Oxford heating experts at Bartels Heating & Cooling for quality service from trustworthy technicians.