Is Your Home Ready for a Heating System Upgrade?

One of the hardest things to figure out in managing a home is when to replace essential systems. This is especially challenging with a home heating system, since it plays such an essential role in home comfort and safety, not to mention budgeting. So how can you tell when it’s time to retire your home heating system? Following are a few tips for determining whether to continue maintaining and repairing an older system or to replace it with new equipment.

If you have a good idea of your heating system’s age, this can help you decide whether to get a new system. Most combustion furnaces or boilers, for example, will last from 15-20 years in our northern climate. If you get to that time range and your furnace is requiring frequent repairs or losing effectiveness, a replacement probably makes sense. A heat pump, on the other hand, should be reassessed during the 10-15 year period. Don’t forget, though – regular professional and do-it-yourself maintenance should extend the life of any heating system.

Is your aging furnace or heat pump requiring more frequent repairs? There’s a particular point where continuing to repair old heating equipment becomes a futile endeavor. Try multiplying the age of your system by the repair estimate, and if the cost exceeds $4,000, consider upgrading to better equipment.

Similarly, if an older furnace, boiler or heat pump is no longer effectively or efficiently heating your home, consider an upgrade. A new, high-efficiency gas furnace, for example, will begin creative savings after the first heating bill. Plus you’ll be more comfortable and safer with a new system.

A careful visual inspection of an older heating system also may reveal whether it’s time for a replacement. If you see rusting or corrosion on the heat exchanger of a gas furnace, for instance, it could signal a crack in this crucial component, which is an immense safety risk.

For professional advice on whether it’s time to replace your old heating system, please contact us at C.R. Wolfe Heating & Air Conditioning. We provide quality HVAC services to Middletown and the surrounding area.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Middletown, New York about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). For more information about heating systems and other HVAC topics, download our free Home Comfort Guide or call us at 845-367-4482.

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