With winter only a month away, homeowners in Goldsboro, NC, should take a renewed interest in their furnaces. If your system doesn’t work well enough, you may need to get a new one before you can be ready for the onset of cold weather. Here are five important signs that you probably need a new furnace:
Frequent Breakdowns
Whenever you encounter any trouble with your furnace, your first reaction may be to ask a professional to repair it. In most cases, this is a sensible and rational thing to do. Nevertheless, there are some exceptions to this rule.
As long as your furnace remains in fundamentally good shape, it should not malfunction frequently. At most, the system’s peripheral parts, such as the thermostat, shouldn’t break down more often than approximately once every few years.
If your furnace needs repairs more often than this, it probably has deeper internal issues. One or more of its parts may have degraded beyond the possibility of lasting repair, and attempts to fix things will potentially be unacceptably costly, especially over the long run. If you continue opting for repairs over replacement in this situation, your expenses may only rise further.
Skyrocketing Heating Bills
Your furnace’s physical integrity and energy efficiency are intimately related. This has one very important implication: If your heating bills begin to rise, even though you aren’t using your furnace more than you usually do at this time of year, your system is probably in decline.
In some cases, repairs may be able to stop or reverse this decline, and annual maintenance can play a pivotal role in delaying its onset. However, if these options don’t help, the only way to reduce your heating bills back to acceptable levels is to replace your furnace with a new model.
Improper Cycling
Your furnace and thermostat should work together to make your home comfortable. When the temperature in your home is lower than the level you’ve programmed into your thermostat, the device should signal your furnace and trigger it to work until the temperature finally reaches the appropriate level. Once your home is warm enough, your furnace should turn off.
This alternating pattern of action and rest is the normal way for your furnace to operate. However, it may either refuse to turn off or begin short cycling instead, both of which are major signs of dysfunction. If furnace repairs fail to resolve the problem, you should think about replacement next.
Rust or Corrosion
If excessive moisture accumulates in your furnace or the system loses the ability to expel gases and other waste products properly, you may start to see rust, cracks or corrosion on it. Clogged valves and other structural issues often lie at the heart of this problem.
Regardless of the precise cause, rust, corrosion, and cracking all mean that your system may break down sooner or later. A professional should inspect your system and determine how far the problem extends. If it’s serious, then you should definitely purchase a new furnace.
Age of the Furnace
Finally, you must never lose sight of how old your furnace is. Every furnace, whether using natural gas, electricity or oil, has an average useful service life. Once yours ages beyond this point, its probability of experiencing severe malfunctions will vastly increase.
Typically, furnaces that run on either gas or heating oil can function well for about 15-20 years. Electric ones can last for approximately 20-30 years. While it’s certainly possible for each type of furnace to outlast its average lifespan, you’ll run a potentially costly risk by keeping your system around longer, making replacement a prudent move.
When your furnace starts to give clear hints of serious dysfunction, don’t hesitate to buy a new one. Call Modern Mechanical HVAC and sign up for the best heating installation services around Goldsboro, NC, when you need a new system.
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