What Are the Signs I Need a New Furnace?

January 7, 2019

family mother and child daughter hugs and warm on winter evening by fireplace

A new furnace is a big investment and can be a heavy cost for any homeowner. It may be hard to make the decision to replace your current furnace, but every furnace will need to be replaced at some point in a home’s life. How do you know when it is time to say goodbye to the furnace in your home?

A typical furnace can last up to 15 to 20 years. This is heavily dependent on how well you have maintained it during its life and if you have had professional maintenance performed on a regular basis.

Frequency of Repairs

A telltale sign of a furnace in need of replacement is the increased cost and frequency of repairs. As a furnace nears the end of its life, the frequency of which it needs repairing will increase, sometimes exponentially. The cost of each repair will also begin to climb. A good rule of thumb is that if the cost of repair nears or exceeds 50 percent of the cost to replace the furnace, it is time to replace it.

However, even if the repair is only 10 percent of the replacement cost, and your furnace is on the older side, you should talk to one of the professionals in our office about whether or not it is worth the repair and if a replacement is recommended.

One of the experts in our office can give you a detailed cost-vs.-performance assessment of the current heating system.

Rise in Heating Bills

Another sign of being in need of a new furnace is that your heating bills have risen dramatically. Furnace and HVAC systems have gotten more and more efficient over the years, particularly in the last five to ten years. If your furnace is more than a decade old, even though it may have a number of years left in it, it is probably nowhere near the efficiency of some of the newer models out there. The fact is that older furnaces simply cannot heat as effectively as their newer counterparts. It’s similar to cars––ones that were built in the early 2000s lack the fuel efficiency of cars built in recent years.

AFUE Rating

Talk to one of our certified technicians about the AFUE rating (Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency, i.e., a thermal efficiency measure) for your furnace and how upgrading to a new model furnace can save you money on your heating bill.