October means that—aside from planning your Halloween costume or your children’s Halloween costumes—you need to plan your heating needs for the approaching winter. Last week, we brought you a reminder about calling for a regular maintenance tune-up for your heating system. This week we’ll look at a bigger solution to future heating trouble: replacing an old gas furnace for a new unit.
Is It Furnace Replacement Time?
We would love to be able to tell you that the natural gas furnace serving your home will last forever and will never need a replacement. But that’s simply untrue. Although gas furnaces that receive routine maintenance can sometimes last for more than 20 years, the time will come when a unit no longer functions efficiently or effectively enough to make it economical to keep it around. Here are some ways to tell that your furnace needs to be retired:
- It is exceptionally noisy – You’ve probably lived with your furnace for many years now, so you should have a good idea of what kinds of sounds it makes when it runs. If those sounds have increased, and new and annoying ones have joined them, then the system is probably too worn down. Have a technician look at it to see if repairs will keep it going for a while longer, or if a replacement is a better option.
- Expensive and frequent repairs – Speaking of repairs, if any potential repair necessary to keep the furnace running would cost half of what it would take to have a new furnace installed, then it’s time to get rid of the furnace. A repair price that high is simply not worth it. But a slew of smaller repairs is a reason to be concerned as well. Two or more repairs during the season are a warning that the furnace won’t last much longer.
- High heating costs – If the cost to run a gas furnace makes a sudden leap, the reason is often a malfunction that can be repaired. But when costs gradually rise over season after season, it means the furnace is grinding down. You shouldn’t keep paying elevated prices to run an old furnace, so consider putting in a new one.
To schedule furnace replacement, call Hall’s Heating, Air Conditioning & Refrigeration. We serve Benton, LA and the surrounding areas.
