Living in a warm climate does not mean that your heater isn’t every bit as important as your air conditioning system. It can be easy to let the memory of chilly winter nights slip away when we’re in the midst of another hot and humid summer season. However, they will be back before long! That means that you need a reliable heater in your home—and that may mean that you need a new furnace in Atlanta, GA.
Because we do live in a pretty warm area, a lot of homeowners can really push it in terms of how far they let their furnaces go before biting the bullet and replacing these vital systems. No matter where you live, you are going to want to get the most for your money. However, you ideally won’t be waiting for a complete breakdown before you go ahead and schedule your furnace replacement. Here are a few tips to help you decide if the time has come.
How Old Is Your System?
A lot of people seem to think that the age of their heating systems are really going to dictate when they need to have those systems replaced. That is not really the case, though. Yes, the age of your system is going to play a major role in determining whether you repair or replace, but it is not exactly a deciding factor.
Instead, your furnace’s age is going to inform the way that you consider other factors. It will play into the decision, but just because your furnace is pretty old doesn’t mean it is necessarily worth replacing. So what other factors should you weigh?
How Efficient Is Your Furnace?
This is a big one. While we may not be running our furnaces nonstop throughout a substantial part of the year, you should nevertheless aim for the greatest energy efficiency possible. Your furnace may be old enough that it was manufactured at a time when efficiency expectations were lower than they are today. The years may also have just rendered it less efficient than it once was. In either case, replacing your system with a newer one, even if it is still operational, is a good way to save money in the long term.
Then there is the issue of a furnace that you bought based on the purchasing cost. Inefficient systems are going to be cheaper than more efficient models. Even if your current system is not that old, you may want to replace it if you have the financial means of doing so. It can sting a little, but consider it an investment that will pay back over the years.
How Satisfied Are You?
There is also the fact that your existing system may not be ideally sized for your home, or maybe you have a heater in place that is not the type that you want. Want to switch to natural gas? Want to upgrade to a system that better fits your home? These are situations in which you may wind up replacing equipment that is relatively new and reliable. Of course, if your system is old and unreliable, then don’t push it along any further! In such instances, replacement is almost certainly the way to go!