How Often You Should Replace Your Furnace

You may know when you need to replace most items in our home. For example, your heating and air conditioning system air filter requires monthly replacement. Your pillows should be replaced every couple years. Your smoke detectors should be replaced every decade. But what about your heating equipment?

If your furnace has annual maintenance and is kept in good working order, it can last 10-20 years. Once your heating equipment reaches 15 years of age , it’s probably a good time to start contemplating replacing your furnace with a new, more energy-efficient furnace. Installed appropriately, these high-efficiency furnaces can save up to 20% on energy costs. Even if your heating equipment still seems to be working fine, it’s ideal to start looking now instead of waiting until your system breaks down in the middle of a terrible freeze and you’re so desperate you don’t have time to look into your options. When thinking about new furnace options it’s also crucial to think about your home’s air duct system. Leaking and undersized ducts can dramatically affect your home’s overall comfort and effectiveness. New heating equipment is only as good as the air duct equipment that it’s installed in.

Another reason you want to research beforehand is to see what tax and manufacturer rebates are available to you. Right now, you can get U.S. government tax credits of up to $500 for specific heating and cooling equipment – but it’s only before the end of 2016 and hasn’t been verified past 12/31/16. Follow this link to help find local rebates available in your area : https://www.energystar.gov/rebate-finder.

Something to think about if your equipment isn’t quite 20 years old and you’re contemplating replacement is how much you’re spending on repairing your current system. You can usually repair a furnace – change a part here, fix a piece there – but eventually the cost of repairing your heating equipment will be greater than the cost of replacing it and then you really need to think about long-term spending. If you are paying for furnace repairs each season, it’s probably time to consider replacement.

If you aren’t positive about your heating system’s ability to get you through the freezing temperatures safe and warm, give Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning a call and we’d be happy to visit your home and inspect your furnace and provide any options. Starting December 1^st, Service Experts is providing discounts on specific heating and cooling systems so contact us and find out how much you can save!