It’s been with you through thick and thin, has weathered many storms, and managed to keep you safe and warm through each one of them. But lately, you feel like you’ve been getting the cold shoulder. As such, you might be asking yourself if the relationship is worth repairing, or if it might be time to say goodbye – to your furnace, that is.
So if you’re one of the many homeowners who find themselves wondering if you should try to squeeze one more heating season out of your existing furnace or invest in a new, more energy efficient model now before you’re forced to making that move, here are 5 furnace warning signs that indicate that replacing it is probably the better move.
It’s more than 15 years old. The average life expectancy for a furnace is between 15 and 20 years. If yours is getting up there in age, you might want to start planning for replacement now before it suddenly dies and you don’t have us much time to consider and weigh your options.
Your electric bill has skyrocketed. It’s common for energy bills to shift, but if you stay on top of maintaining your heating system year after year, your electricity bill shouldn’t increase dramatically from one year to the next. Higher than normal utility bills could mean that your furnace isn’t operating as effectively and efficiently as it should.
Cranking up the thermostat doesn’t help. When you’re cold, your natural response is to bump up the thermostat a few notches or so. But if that doesn’t work, your thermostat may be faulty, you may have leaking ducts, or a problem with the pilot light.
You’ve repaired it within the last two years. Like a car, the older a furnace gets, the more repairs it’s going to need. Add up the cost of repairs over the last two years and see if it’s more cost efficient to simply replace it and then apply the energy savings to your purchase price.
Your furnace sounds possessed. Some noises are common, but if your furnace sounds like something out of a horror movie, it might be at the end of its life. If you hear rattling, popping, banging, or groaning coming from your furnace, don’t wait for the noises to go away because, on their own, most likely they won’t. And the problem that’s causing them will only get worse.
Your burner flame is yellow instead of blue. This could be a sign that your furnace is producing carbon monoxide, an odorless, tasteless, and colorless toxic gas that can be fatal.
Leave your house immediately and call your utility company to turn your gas off while contacting Optimum Air to figure out what, if anything, can be done to repair your furnace.
At Optimum Air, we don’t recommend replacing your furnace “just because”. There has to be one or more very good reasons to take such an action, and we’re just the company to help you decide what’s best for your family and budget. So if your furnace is getting up in there in years or not performing up to par, contact Optimum Air today for expert advice and the appropriate “next step” service action.