During the winter heating season, the health and operation of your home’s furnace is obviously fundamental to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace difficulties, you may be wondering whether it is ultimately more sensible to repair or replace your furnace. There are several factors that will determine which option is best for you. Your Charlotte area HVAC professional can help you judge your needs and your broken HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the appropriate short- and long-term answer for your Charlotte home.
When Repair Is Best
In most cases, furnace problems can be easily diagnosed and repaired by a ACE-certified, HVAC professional. If your furnace is new—i.e., less than ten years old — odds are highly likely that any issues it exhibits can be solved through repair. Additionally, if your furnace is still heating your Charlotte area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you confirm this), then it is still in your best interest to repair it. Commonly, as long as you are not seeing a steady increase in your heating bills with constant usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is deemed operationally sound. Conventional wisdom regarding furnace repairs is that assuming the repairs you need are less than one-third of the investment of a new heating system and your furnace is in the first half of its predicted lifetime, repair is likely your best choice. Keep in mind that even if you are experiencing a drop in heating efficiency, there are other avenues you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC service advisor about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Charlotte home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these solutions could improve the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Komfort Air Service Experts about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will ensure your furnace is in top condition and help you minimize further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
Eventually, repair cannot restore your heating system to a minimally effective level. The anticipated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; thereafter, the heating system will begin to fail more and more often. Thus, if your furnace is nearing or passed the 15 year mark, it is time to consider replacement. Beyond the factor of the age of your equipment, if you need your HVAC service provider for repairs frequently, this could also be a sign that your furnace is beyond help and requires a replacement. Although repairs may seem like a simple 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 best 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. Also, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized according to specs for your Charlotte home size or heating needs. If your furnace isn’t sized or installed properly, you might want to buy the correct unit versus trying to get the wrong unit to perform beyond it’s capacity.
If you have questions about whether repair or replacement of your Charlotte home’s heating system is right for you, contact Komfort Air Service Experts today.