When its cold outside, the health and function of your home’s furnace is obviously vital to your comfort. If you’re experiencing furnace difficulties, you may be wondering whether it is ultimately more sensible to repair or replace your furnace. There are multiple factors that will help you resolve which option is best for you. Your Miami area HVAC technician can help you assess your needs and your broken HVAC system to determine whether furnace repair or replacement is the ideal short- and long-term answer for your Miami home.
When Repair Is Best
Oftentimes, 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 — odds are highly likely that any issues it has can be solved through repair. Additionally, if your furnace is still heating your Miami area home efficiently (your HVAC professional can help you confirm this), then it is still likely and more affordable to repair it. Typically, as long as you are not seeing a continuous increase in your heating bills with regular usage and your home is not having issues with uneven heating, your furnace is considered in good shape. Our recommendation about furnace repairs is that assuming the repairs you must get are less than one-third of the expense of a new heating system and your furnace is in the first half of its predicted lifetime, repair is likely your best option. Remember that even if you are experiencing a reduction in heating efficiency, there are other paths you can explore before considering replacing your furnace. Talk to your HVAC service advisor about upgrading your thermostat or checking the integrity of your Miami home’s ductwork to see if he thinks these enhancement could improve the efficiency of your furnace. Talk to Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning about scheduling regular furnace maintenance, which will keep your furnace functioning its best and help you minimize further repairs or drops in efficiency.
When Replacement Is Best
Eventually, repair is not your best option to restore your furnace to optimal function. The estimated lifetime of most furnaces is 15-20 years; after this point, the heating system will deteriorate and fail more and more often. Therefore, if your furnace is already at least 15 years old, it is time to discuss replacement. Irregardless of equipment age, if you need your HVAC service provider for repairs on a regular basis, this could also be a sign that it’s time to consider replacement. 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 ultimately cost you more money. There are several things that may determine whether replacement is best for you including the quality of your original furnace installation and the capacity of your furnace. Installation means everything in terms of furnace effectiveness. In addition, your furnace may be struggling if it’s not sized properly for your Miami home size or heating needs. If your furnace isn’t sized or installed properly, you will probably need to consider a new unit instead of dealing with a heating system that lacks the capacity to properly heat your home.
If you have questions about whether repair or replacement of your Miami home’s heating system is right for you, contact Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning today.