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 difficulties, you might be wondering whether it makes sense to repair or replace your furnace. There are multiple factors that will decide upon which option is best for you. Your Jacksonville area HVAC technician can help you evaluate your needs and your broken HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the appropriate short- and long-term answer for your Jacksonville home.
When Repair Is Best
In most cases, furnace problems 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 — odds are highly likely that any issues it exhibits can be solved through repair. On top of that, if your furnace is still heating your Jacksonville area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you confirm this), then it is still probable that you will repair it. Commonly, as long as you are not seeing a trending increase in your heating bills with regular usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is considered in good shape. A good general rule of thumb regarding furnace repairs is that as long as the repairs you must get 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 decision. 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 service advisor about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Jacksonville home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these HVAC products could boost the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Air Engineers Service Experts about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will keep your furnace functioning its best and help you minimize further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
Sometimes, repair is not your best option to restore your furnace to optimal function. The estimated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after this point, the heating system will begin to fail more and more often. Therefore, if your furnace is approaching or past 15 years old, it is time to discuss 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 an easy fix, if they aren’t keeping your furnace functioning for years at a time, these frequent smaller charges ultimately cost you more money. There are many things that may determine whether replacement is ideal for you including the quality of your original furnace installation and the capacity of your furnace. A furnace is only as good as its installation, making proper installation essential. In addition, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized according to specs for your Jacksonville home size or heating needs. If your furnace isn’t sized or installed properly, you will probably need to consider a new unit instead of dealing with a heating system that lacks the capacity to properly heat your home.
If you have questions about whether repair or replacement of your Jacksonville home’s heating system is right for you, contact Air Engineers Service Experts today.