The weather has been growing steadily cooler for many weeks now, and as fall turns to winter, prudent homeowners are using their heating system more and more often. If you have an older heating system that may be on its last legs, now is the time to determine that. When a problem crops up with such a system, is it worthwhile to repair it? Or would that money be better spent on a replacement heater?
At the end of the day, only you the homeowner can answer that question. Every heating system is unique and no one can say with 100% accuracy when it’s worth more to install a new system than repair an older one. But heating technicians tend to look for two specific signs of trouble, that usually need to appear in conjunction to consider replacement. A sign of one or the other may not be dire, but when you put them both together, you might seriously think about replacement.
The Status of the Warranty
Every heating system comes with a warranty that covers all of the original parts of the furnace for a set period of time. As long as the warranty hasn’t expired, you don’t need to pay for replacement parts as part of any repair job. That usually means that repairs are the best way to go rather than replacement.
Even after the warranty has expired, repairs might still be a better option over replacement, provided that the repairs don’t cost more than the heating system is worth. (This is one of the reasons why we recommend regular maintenance sessions for your heater: it tends to lower the cost of repairs later in the system’s life.)
The Cost of Repairs
So what happens after the warranty expires? If you’ve kept good care of it, it will likely continue to function effectively for months or even years longer than it would otherwise. Sooner or later, however, wear and tear gets to every system. Whether it comes from a specific repair, or just high operating costs, the system becomes more trouble than it’s worth. Let’s look closer at those two possibilities:
- Any single repair made after the warranty expires that costs more than you feel the system is worth probably means that a replacement is in order. You should also think about replacing the system if you have to make more the two repairs on it in a single 12-month period.
- Monthly Costs. It doesn’t need to be a specific problem that leads you to replace your heating system. Increasing inefficiency means that the cost of running an older system is usually more than the cost of running a newer system (sometimes substantially more). If your warranty has expired and your monthly budget needs a break from high heating bills, it might be a good idea to replace the older system with a newer one. You’ll feel the difference in your pocketbook every month.
For top-notch heating repair and replacement services in Walker, LA, call Professional Heating & Air today!