Your home’s heating system keeps you warm and cozy during the cold months. Of course, like all machinery, it could break down periodically. However, it can get to a point where the repairs become much more expensive or its efficiency significantly decreases. If you’re dealing with frequent or costly breakdowns or your energy bills are soaring, it might be time to consider an upgrade.
When to Upgrade
1. Energy Costs Are Unusually High and Increasing
The correlation between your heating system usage and energy consumption in your home is direct. The more you use it, the higher your energy bills will be. Naturally, your bills will increase during the cold months when the heating demand is high; however, they should not keep going up when you’re not using your furnace more than usual. You may have to watch your monthly budget closely to notice these increases.
Energy costs spike when your heating system is working harder than it should. Several factors can cause this, including dirty filters, damaged parts, poor sizing, and old age. If you recently changed your filters but the energy costs are still high, the culprit might be a damaged part. Call a technician to inspect your system and fix the underlying issue. If that doesn’t keep the energy costs down, your system may be too big or small for your home. An improperly sized furnace, boiler, or heat pump will either turn on and off very often (short-cycling) or run constantly.
Finally, a heating system generally degrades as it ages. When parts are worn out, they won’t work as efficiently as they used to, consuming a lot more energy to keep up with your heating needs.
2. Your Home Heating System Has Clocked 15-20 Years
If your heating system is 15 to 20 years old, hire a professional HVAC technician to inspect it to ensure it’s safe for operation. When furnaces, boilers, and heat pumps age, they may consume more energy, provide suboptimal heating, and contribute to poor indoor quality.
On the same note, if your system uses ducts, you should replace them after 15 years. Ducts are prone to leaks, contaminant accumulation, and heat loss when they age. Heavily damaged ducts can allow dust, microorganisms, and chemicals to mix with the conditioned air in your indoor spaces. This can result in respiratory issues, such as asthma and allergies, or even cancer, heart disease, and cognitive defects after long-term exposure.
3. You’ve Had Multiple Repairs Within a Few Years
If you painstakingly commit to your maintenance schedule, change your filters every two to three months, and have sufficient airflow inside your home, you’ll rarely deal with heating repairs. During maintenance, a technician will catch potential issues and fix them before they escalate, lubricate moving parts, recalibrate your thermostat, top up the refrigerant, and clean your ducts and outdoor area. This should keep your system functioning efficiently until the next visit.
A breakdown after comprehensive maintenance means something unexpected went wrong, perhaps a change in circumstances. A quick fix should keep things in order. However, if this keeps happening, your system may lack the capacity to condition your home as it used to.
You can use the $5,000 rule to gauge when replacement is the best alternative. Multiply the age of your heating system by the cost of repairs within a year, and if the value you obtain is greater than $5,000, it’s time to consider a new one.
4. You Experience HVAC Abnormalities
When you keep encountering unusual or irritating occurrences, your furnace might be close to the end of its lifespan. For instance, a furnace that fails to kick on when the temperatures drop, can’t reach the set thermostat temperatures, or emits bad odors and weird noises is signaling that it isn’t working as it should.
An old furnace with components that have undergone substantial wear and tear can fail to function when subjected to the stress of low temperatures in your home. However, this can also happen when you have a faulty igniter, broken pressure switch, or blocked fuel supply. Be sure to rule out these other factors since a simple repair might be all that’s necessary to keep your system working properly.
If your heating system can’t warm your space to desired temperatures, there might be an issue with the thermostat sensor. However, if nothing seems wrong and every component seems to be working in order, then a replacement may be a better alternative. Consult with a technician first to find the root cause.
Bad odors and unusual noises are just signs of other underlying issues. For instance, a burning smell may indicate a failing compressor or fan. The compressor is the heart of your air source heating system, which means when it is damaged and your furnace or heat pump is generally old, it makes more sense to get a completely new system. Replacing just the compressor will lead to more problems because it will create too much pressure for other worn-out parts that can’t keep up with it.
Noises like rattling can mean missing screws or out-of-place components inside your furnace or heat pump. Banging noises in your boiler may indicate limescale buildup within the heat exchanger. These issues can sometimes destroy your heating system to a point of no return.
Benefits of a New Heating System
Enhanced Energy Efficiency
The rapid advancement of technology in the HVAC industry has led to the creation of heating systems with energy-saving features that significantly reduce monthly consumption. The federal government has further championed this, setting new, higher energy-efficiency standards for heating systems.
When shopping around for a new boiler, heat pump, or furnace, consider the ones with the ENERGY STAR seal of approval. They’ll save you at least 15% on energy bills compared to the standard entry models.
Improved Indoor Air Quality
Modern heating systems incorporate advanced filtration that ensures a cleaner, fresher, allergen-free indoor environment. These systems have sensors that can detect various pollutants, including fine particulate matter, and adjust your air quality conditions to improve ventilation and air purification.
Consistent and Advanced Heating
New heating systems provide even temperatures all around your home thanks to intelligent technology integrations. For instance, furnaces with variable-speed blower motors monitor incoming data from the thermostat, allowing it to control airflow precisely to maintain your desired comfort levels. They also ramp fan speed up or down gradually, reducing strain on your system, minimizing wear and tear.
Newer systems often also come with smart thermostats that provide absolute convenience when warming your home. They come with a phone app that allows you to set your preferred temperatures remotely. They also send alerts and notifications of issues your system might be experiencing to your phone. This can help you stay ahead of breakdowns, ensuring uninterrupted comfort levels and a generally healthy system.
Call All Klear for More Information
If you live in Springfield, MO and the surrounding areas, call All Klear today for a professional heating system replacement. We will provide a professional assessment of the one you currently have and give an honest opinion of how to proceed. If a repair would suffice, we will ensure the job is done right to last few more years. However, if replacement is the best option, we’ll guide you toward the ideal system for your home and ensure a flawless installation. We also specialize in indoor air quality services, plumbing work, and electrical repair.
