My furnace isn’t working, should I repair or replace?

Before the cold days of winter are upon us, one thing that you want to make sure of is that your furnace is going be able to serve its purpose. Many people wonder whether they should have their furnace repaired or if they just need to buy a new furnace altogether. There are a few different things that you should take into consideration, which are covered throughout this article.

A general rule of thumb is that repairs can be embraced for furnaces 10 years or younger.

The reason for this is that furnaces that reach the ages of 12-15 years or older have a higher risk of failing completely. In which case, the only option for dealing with the total failure of your furnace is to buy a new one to replace it with. However, if your furnace is 10 years or younger you can be assured that repairs could do it justice and prevent the need for having to shell out a ton of money on buying a new furnace to keep you warm on those cold winter nights.

Are constant repairs starting to become more of a nuisance?

Sure, having your furnace repaired is great as long as you’re not having to do it every time you turn around. Having to do it multiple times isn’t only costly in terms of the repair bills, but it can also be aggravating. If your furnace has you calling the repair company constantly, a new one might be able to help put a stop to this.

Heat not being distributed properly could be one of two issues.

If your furnace doesn’t seem to be distributing the heat in your home evenly, it could be the furnace itself or the ductwork. The only way to know exactly is to call out an experienced HVAC Contractor to take a look at everything. If it’s your furnace, it may be time for a replacement if a repair can’t be performed to bring it to its ideal operational state.

If you hear odd sounds, it may be time for a new furnace.

A lot of the time if your furnace bangs, pops, or rattles, it is simply reaching the end of its life. One of the most common downfalls of this situation is that it also has a direct effect on the air quality in your home making your air dry and stale. The only option at this point is to start shopping for a new furnace before you end up without any source of heat whatsoever.

Finally, any risk of carbon monoxide being released in the air needs to be handled.

Carbon monoxide is often referred to as the silent killer, due to it being toxic without producing any clear warning signs before it takes its next victim. Of course, it’s common advice to always have a carbon monoxide detector anytime that you’re running a furnace but there are also other things that you can look for in order to determine whether your furnace is releasing carbon monoxide into the air.

For example, when you’re using a natural gas furnace you can look at the flame to determine whether the fuel is being burned properly or not. A furnace that is working properly will produce a flame that is blue in color with yellow at the tip. If the flame is entirely level, there is a good chance that the gas isn’t being burned properly and it may mean that you need to replace your furnace as it could be wearing out.

Hopefully, this helped you understand when furnace repair can be embraced and when it is time to just buy a new furnace. Remember, you should always try to take care of this before winter hits so that you and your family aren’t without heat during the coldest days of the year.