The weather is cooling off. Winter is coming! Are you prepared for it? Or are you concerned about your furnace? You definitely don’t want to begin the winter knowing you have heating system problems or putting off having repairs done. But at a certain point, it’s no longer worth it to repair your furnace. Could it be time to replace it instead?
There are a lot of factors that can be weighed when deciding whether to keep investing in furnace repair or choose to get a new furnace. We can explain them to you, but better than that, we have a handy system to help you make the decision. We call it the 5000 Rule of Furnace Replacement, and it can simplify your repair-or-replace choice into simple numbers. If you have any other questions about furnace replacement in Navarre, FL, we’d love to hear from you.
Factors to Weigh
When you’re considering what you can expect from your furnace, and how much it might be worth investing in it, there are several things to think about.
- Age: An electric furnace can last around twenty years, and a gas furnace around fifteen. As the system gets close to those outer age limits, it will need more and more repairs, and it won’t be as efficient anymore.
- Condition: Those age estimates are based on furnaces receiving annual professional maintenance. Have you been good about getting that done every year? If your furnace’s maintenance record is spotty, it won’t last as long. If you’ve never had maintenance done, those life expectancy numbers will need to be cut by as much as half.
- Cost of Repair: If your furnace needs a repair done now, how much will that repair cost? Even if your furnace isn’t expected to last many more years, it might be worth a small repair bill to keep it running for another winter or two. But if it will be a large repair bill, you want to know that your furnace will be keeping you warm for quite a while yet.
- Frequency of Repair: Small repair costs seem minor at the moment. But if they’re happening every year, or more than once a year, it can add up to quite the cost. Not only that, but as the furnace ages, repairs will only get more and more frequent. If it’s already happening pretty often, your furnace is on the way out.
- Efficiency: Have your energy bills been creeping up more than you think they should? Maintenance can keep a furnace efficient for quite a while. But eventually, no amount of service can balance out the wear and tear of many years of keeping your house warm, and your furnace will start to consume more energy.
The 5000 Rule
Take the age of your furnace in years and the estimated cost of the repair it currently needs, and multiply those numbers together. For example, if your furnace is five years old, and it needs a five-hundred-dollar repair, 5 x 500 = 2,500. If your furnace is ten years old, and it needs an eight-hundred-dollar repair, 10 x 800 = 8,000.
The idea is that if your answer is under 5,000, your furnace is worth repairing, and if the answer is over 5000, you should replace it. If the answer is quite close to 5,000, and it’s hard to decide, consider the other factors. If it’s a well-maintained furnace that rarely requires repair and is reasonably efficient, repair. If it’s a poorly maintained furnace that requires regular repairs and is losing efficiency, replace it.
For professional furnace services, look no further than Kool Breeze of Northwest Florida, Inc. Contact us today!