During the winter heating season, the condition of your home’s furnace is obviously critical to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace troubles, you might be wondering whether it makes sense to repair or replace your furnace. There are several factors that will help you resolve which option is best for you. Your Melbourne area HVAC service advisor can help you assess your needs and your struggling HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the best short- and long-term answer for your Melbourne home.
When Repair Is Best
More often than not, furnace troubles can be easily sourced and repaired by a ACE-certified, HVAC professional. If your furnace is new—i.e., less than ten years old — it stands a very good chance that any issues it exhibits can be solved through repair. On top of that, if your furnace is still heating your Melbourne area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you determine this), then it is still likely and more affordable to repair it. Typically, as long as you are not seeing a trending 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 regarding furnace repairs is that as long as 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 predicted lifetime, repair is likely your best option. Remember 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 service advisor about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Melbourne home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these enhancement could improve 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 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 anticipated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after this point, 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 think about 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 your furnace is beyond help and requires a 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 can add up quickly and cost you more in the long run. 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. Installation means everything in terms of furnace effectiveness. Also, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized according to specs for your Melbourne 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 Melbourne home’s heating system is right for you, contact Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning today.