During the winter heating season, the health and function of your home’s furnace is obviously vital to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace problems, you may be wondering whether it’s in your best interests to repair or replace your furnace. There are several factors that will decide upon which option is best for you. Your Austin area HVAC service advisor can help you assess your needs and your struggling HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the appropriate short- and long-term answer for your Austin home.
When Repair Is Best
More often than not, furnace problems 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 experiences can be solved through repair. Additionally, if your furnace is still heating your Austin area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you determine this), then it is still in your best interest to repair it. Commonly, as long as you are not seeing a steady increase in your heating bills with constant usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is deemed operationally sound. Our recommendation regarding furnace repairs is that assuming the repairs you need are less than one-third of the cost of a new heating system and your furnace is in the first half of its anticipated lifetime, repair is likely your best decision. Don’t forget that even if you are experiencing a drop in heating efficiency, there are other avenues you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC service advisor about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Austin home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these enhancement could boost the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Strand Brothers Service Experts 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 estimated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after which, the heating system will begin to fail more and more often. Thus, if your furnace is already at least 15 years old, it is time to discuss replacement. Regardless of the age of your furnace, if you’ve been calling your HVAC service provider for repairs too often, this could also be a sign that your heating system is failing and needs to be replaced. Although repairs may seem like a simple fix, if they aren’t keeping your furnace operating for years at a time, these frequent smaller charges will add up and cost you way more than buying new. There are several things that may determine whether replacement is appropriate 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 Austin 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 Austin home’s heating system is right for you, contact Strand Brothers Service Experts today.