Does your home in Greencastle, Crawfordsville, or Danville have a heating system that is struggling to meet your family’s heating needs? Are you faced with making repairs and wonder if fixing your older system is the right way to go? Homeowners often question whether to repair or replace furnace equipment, especially when facing serious performance problems and significant repairs. Edwards Royal Comfort offers some expert guidance you can use to determine which course of action is best in your situation.
What to Consider When Choosing Between Repair and Replacement
The decision to repair or replace your furnace is highly personal, and the choice is unique to each circumstance. While furnaces don’t have a set expiration date and it’s impossible to tell exactly when a unit will fail for good, there are some factors you can use to determine if it’s best to repair or replace a furnace.
Age Matters
When deciding to repair or replace heating equipment, the first factor we recommend looking at is the age of your current unit. While we never know exactly how long a particular furnace will last, there is an average service life expectancy for this type of heating equipment.
- Gas and oil furnaces have an average service life between 15 to 20 years.
- Electric furnaces offer an average service life between 20 to 30 years.
If your furnace is very close to or at the lower end of its expected service life range, you are going to need a new furnace in the near future regardless of your decision to repair or replace furnace equipment right now.
The older the furnace gets, the less energy efficient the system will become and the higher your energy bills will climb. In this situation, it is often preferable to go ahead and replace the furnace rather than repair it, but repairs may be considered depending on cost and severity.
Repair Cost
There’s usually a big difference between the cost of repairing and replacing equipment, and the cost of repairs can vary greatly depending on what needs to be done to fix the system. Cost of repairs is one factor that should be considered, along with system age, when deciding to repair or replace heating equipment.
If you have a broken furnace that can be repaired, it’s wise to consider the cost of repairs versus the cost of a new system. If the cost of a furnace repair is substantial, many homeowners feel their money is best used toward the purchase of a new furnace rather than fixing the existing up, especially if furnace replacement is going to be necessary due to system age in the next few years.
While this decision is dependent on each homeowner’s personal budget and beliefs, there are some general guidelines you may find helpful when evaluating the cost of furnace services.
- If repair costs equal half or more of the cost to have a new furnace installed, furnace replacement is typically recommended.
- Multiply the cost of repairs by the age of your existing furnace – if the total equals $5,000 or more, replacing the furnace is generally the most cost-effective choice.
Furnace Services in Greencastle, Crawfordsville, & Danville, IN
It’s tough to determine whether you should repair or replace your furnace, but having a trusted HVAC company on your side can put you at ease. Turn to Edwards Royal Comfort for expert help when making this important decision – our licensed heating, air conditioning, and indoor air quality technicians will evaluate your furnace equipment and provide the information you need to make critical decisions about your home comfort. Contact us today to schedule an appointment.