When its cold outside, the health and operation of your home’s furnace is obviously critical to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace problems, you probably are wondering whether it is ultimately more sensible to repair or replace your furnace. There are several factors that will decide upon which option is best for you. Your Gainesville area HVAC professional can help you assess your needs and your broken HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the ideal short- and long-term answer for your Gainesville home.
When Repair Is Best
In most cases, furnace issues can be easily identified and repaired by a ACE-certified, HVAC professional. If your furnace is new—i.e., under ten years — it stands a very good chance that any issues it exhibits can be solved through repair. Furthermore, if your furnace is still heating your Gainesville area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you determine this), then it is still likely and more affordable to repair it. Usually, 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. Our recommendation relating to furnace repairs is that if the repairs you must get 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 option. Don’t forget 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 technician about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Gainesville home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these solutions could boost the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will add years of quality service from your furnace and help you prevent further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
Sometimes, repair cannot restore your heating system to a minimally effective level. The anticipated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after which, the heating system will start to fail more and more often. Thus, if your furnace is nearing or passed the 15 year mark, it is time to discuss replacement. Irregardless of equipment age, if you require your HVAC service provider for repairs frequently, this could also be a sign that your heating system is failing and needs to be replaced. Although repairs may seem like a basic fix, if they aren’t keeping your furnace operating 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. Also, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized properly for your Gainesville 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 Gainesville home’s heating system is right for you, contact Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning today.