What You Must Know Before Buying a Furnace for Your Austin Home
We realize that not everyone may need a new furnace right now, but it’s important to learn the keys that will likely influence your choice when you are ready to buy. Below are the top 5 considerations that Strand Brothers Service Experts advises our customers to think about during their evaluation:
1. Heating Repair Frequency
Like any type of appliance, as furnaces age, the likeliness of heating repairs increase. If your heating equipment is over 15 years old, those repairs can become significant. More common and costly repairs include blower motor failures, ignition control failures and heat exchanger failures.
2. Operational Cost
The efficiency of gas furnaces in Austin area homes today naturally influences your home energy bills, and the level of efficiency can vary tremendously depending upon the system you buy. Furnaces older than 15 years can be terribly inefficient, resulting in up to 40% of your home energy dollars being wasted. Even the latest models of furnaces can waste up to 20%.
3. System Maintenance
A well maintained furnace will operate more efficiently, decrease the likelihood of expensive repairs and most importantly ensure your safety. Remember, these are gas-fired appliances. Another important point is a properly tuned furnace will last longer before replacement is required.
4. Tune-up Checks
Strand Brothers Service Experts receives a lot of questions concerning what truly can be done to tune-up or maintain a furnace and there are actually many vital checks and calibrations in the process:
- Gas Pressure and gas valve calibration
- Cleaning and checking safety switches
- Cleaning the heat exchanger
- Inspecting the heat exchanger for dangerous conditions
- Cleaning the blower system
- Cleaning and replacement of worn ignition sensors
- Much more...
5. HVAC Maintenance Interval
A certified professional who has the knowledge, skills and experience to perform a tune-up should maintain heating equipment once a year. Simply put, without routine maintenance, frequent repairs combined with dated equipment are some of the more obvious signals of a need to replace your furnace.
Out of control energy costs and the need to reduce energy consumption are also strong reasons to consider replacement of your furnace. In fact, an independent study by Decision Analyst stated that nearly 20% of homeowners who recently replaced their furnace specifically did so to lower their utility bills.
Austin area homeowners seeking more information are urged to call Strand Brothers Service Experts at 512-592-3072 .
