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’s in your best interests to repair or replace your furnace. There are many factors that will decide upon which option is best for you. Your San Antonio 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 San Antonio home.
When Repair Is Best
Oftentimes, furnace problems can be easily pinpointed 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 has can be solved through repair. Additionally, if your furnace is still heating your San Antonio area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you determine this), then it is still probable that you will repair it. Typically, as long as you are not seeing a continuous increase in your heating bills with constant usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is considered in good shape. Conventional wisdom about furnace repairs is that assuming the repairs you require are less than one-third of the investment of a new heating system and your furnace is in the first half of its expected lifetime, repair is likely your best choice. Keep in mind that even if you are experiencing a drop in heating efficiency, there are other routes you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC professional about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your San Antonio home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these solutions could improve the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to San Antonio Air Service Experts about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will add years of quality service from your furnace and help you minimize further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
In some cases, repair is not your best option to restore your furnace to optimal function. The expected lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; thereafter, the heating system will start to fail more and more often. Thus, if your furnace is approaching or past 15 years old, it is time to discuss replacement. Irregardless of equipment age, if you need your HVAC service provider for repairs on a regular basis, 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 will add up and cost you way more than buying new. There are many things that may determine whether replacement is appropriate 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 San Antonio 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 San Antonio home’s heating system is right for you, contact San Antonio Air Service Experts today.