When to Know You Need Furnace Replacement

The time to determine if you need a new furnace for your home is now, when the cool weather of fall has not yet given way to the cold weather of winter. Most homes in the Denver area have been running their heating systems fairly regularly at this point, but we’re still a few weeks away from the really cold temperatures that make heating a necessity instead of just a comfort.  But how can you tell when you need furnace replacement? When can you simply repair a problem and when is that money better spent investing in a new furnace? Only you, the homeowner can make that final call. Every furnace is unique and so too are your circumstances. You need to exercise your best judgment when it comes to an investment like this. There are. however, some guidelines that can help you out. The decision to replace a furnace ultimately comes down to cost, and the price of continuing with the old furnace measured against the price of installing a new one. That, in turn, comes down to two key factors.

The Warranty

Every heating system comes with a warranty that covers the cost of the original components if they should break down. As long as the warranty is in effect, repairs are usually a better option for your furnace than replacement, since you will only need to pay for the cost of labor and perhaps a few small components such as nuts and bolts. Even after the warranty expires, the cost of repairs may be reasonably easy to bear and make a better option than full-bore replacement. This is one of the reasons why we always recommend regular maintenance sessions throughout the heating system’s life: it cuts down on repair costs later in the system’s life.

Only when the warranty has expired and costs have risen too high should you seriously think about a replacement.

The Cost

Excessive air conditioning costs — the kind that induce a homeowner to replace the whole system instead of sending good money after bad — tend to fall into one of two basic categories:

• Repair costs. In most cases, this can mean a single expensive repair that costs more than you feel the furnace is worth. It can also mean that the frequency of repairs is getting to be too high. Generally speaking, if you’ve had to call for a furnace repair job more than twice in a single 12-month period, that’s usually a sign for an older system to be replaced.
• Monthly costs. As heaters grow older, they suffer from wear and tear, which forces them to use more energy to do their jobs. That will drive your monthly bills up until replacing it makes a better option than enduring another winter of sky-high heating bills. (Again, maintenance on a yearly basis can help mitigate this and extend your heater’s life, though sooner or later every system is going to need replacing.)

If the furnace in your Denver, CO home needs repairs or replacement this fall, call on the friendly pros at Bell Plumbing and Heating to take care of it!