To Replace or Not to Replace: When’s the Right Time to Get a New Furnace
It’s just a fact of homeownership life here in Anoka, MN, that you will eventually need to replace your furnace. Although you can extend the life of your furnace and keep costs down by engaging in regular maintenance, there comes a point when it just makes more sense to replace it, financially speaking.
How do you know when your furnace has reached that point? In addition to the points we’ve listed below, some of the other signs are the furnace flame turning yellow (it should be blue), inconsistent heat in your home, there is lots of dust, you hear banging noises or see rust.
How Old is it?
If your furnace is 17 years old or more, that is the magic number. At 17 years old, you definitely need a new one. Most furnaces last in the 10-15 year range.
If you have a higher end model, and/or you are really good at preventative maintenance and tune-ups, you may get it to last for 17 years. After 17 years, sinking money into repairs and maintenance is a waste.
Another reason to replace an old furnace? For cost savings today. Over the last several years, technology has evolved a lot to include a lot of energy-efficient features on furnaces. You could cut bills by up to 40 percent going forward.
How High are Your Heating Bills?
Heat is expensive (which is why high-efficiency furnaces are so much better) but that doesn’t mean that your heating bills should keep going up.
If you notice a steady increase in your heating bills, you can likely attribute that to a furnace whose components are no longer working like they should, so you should replace it.
Frequent Repairs
Are you calling to have your furnace repaired, only to call again before too long? If the cost of your repairs is adding up, along with the frequency of your calls that is a definite sign that you need to replace your furnace.
Don’t spend more than 50 percent on repairs (and that can be cumulatively in a short space of time) vs. what a replacement cost would be.
Furnace replacement isn’t something that you want to wait until the fall or winter to deal with. If you get struck with a cold snap, and your furnace conks out, you’ll wish you did it when the temperature was warmer.