Sealing Up Damaged Ventilation Lines

Furnace Replacement Services: Signs Your Furnace Needs Replacement

How's your relationship with your furnace? Does it get moody on you at the onset of every winter? That said, why wait for chilly days to start looking for HVAC contractors to repair or replace your furnace? Read on to see if it's time for out with the old and in with the new. 

Age Furnace

The average life expectancy furnace is 15-30 years, after which it may fail or become less efficient. If your unit has been with you for more than 20 years, it warranties a furnace replacement.  

Increased Energy Bills 

Many homeowners know how to track their home equipment's efficiency by checking each unit's energy consumption or an entire home. High bills indicate reduced efficiency.

If it is not very efficient, the furnace will not heat your house because more heat gets lost out of the chimney. Common culprits for reduced efficiency are dirty filters, air leaks, blocked radiators, loosened parts and cracks on parts, dirty burners, a bad limit switch on the blower, blocked vents on the exhaust, and poorly working heat pumps.

If you are working with a relatively aged furnace and don't have a replacement budget, you can call in an HVAC expert to see if there is something wrong inside the furnace that needs urgent repairs. For instance, there may be something wrong with the heat exchanger or flue flow, and it is possible to replace the heat exchanger and other parts individually. Otherwise, continued repairs and replacements on an old furnace will cost you more in the long run and calls for a new unit. 

Delay in Heating

Unless you are working with a small furnace for a big home, in which case, you should call for furnace replacement with one more suitable for your home; the furnace may stop heating the house due to reduced efficiency. The same case applies to furnaces that take hours to heat a home. A furnace replacement or repair can fix the above problems and prolong the life of your furnace.

Unusual and Unwelcome Sounds

Modern furnaces are made to operate quietly and efficiently, and most will include mechanisms for noise reduction. Therefore, hissing sounds, bangs, and other funny sounds are indicators that something is not right. 

A very loud popping sound, for instance, may result from a dirty burner if you own a gas furnace. Furnaces also make noise if return air ducting is not working at total capacity. 

It Is Letting Out Musty And Awful Smells

Rotten egg smells indicate failure of heat exchangers. This is dangerous because the exchanger may pump carbon monoxide gas into your home. Dirt, dust, and other particles may also clog the unit and contribute to a musty smell. If the musty smell persists even after replacing affected areas, you might want to replace the entire unit. 

Attending to your furnace is paramount once you notice low efficiency, poor heating performance, high energy bills, unusual smells, and sounds. It prolongs the furnace's life and makes your home stay warm when you need it the most. Contact a furnace replacement contractor to learn more.


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