Is It Time To Upgrade Your Home Heating System?

CategoriesHome Improvement

Before you start seeking out heating companies in charlottesville va, you need to determine if it’s really time to do a full upgrade of your home heating system. After all, an upgrade can help you save energy, keep your system in proper working order whenever you need it, and above all, keep more money in your pocket when it comes to paying those heating and cooling costs.

Luckily, there are a few factors to explore and consider about your current heating apparatus to assist you in making the decision to upgrade the system.

Age

It’s a factor for all of us, as we get older, we can start to break down. Maybe we’re not as sharp or active as we used to be. It’s no different for your furnace. As it ages, it can start to work less effectively and efficiently to heat the home. But before you decide to upgrade, you need to determine how old your furnace might be and then you can take action.

Upgrading the unit before it’s absolutely necessary is just throwing away money. You purchased that furnace with the expectation you were going to get so many years of use from it. If you’re discarding it before you’ve exhausted that anticipated lifespan, you’re not getting your money’s worth.

So get an idea of how old the furnace is first. Anything beyond 10 or 11 years is probably a good indication your furnace could use an upgrade. In addition, consider how many repairs you’ve needed on the unit since you’ve owned it. That’s a substantial factor here as well. Even if the furnace is about 7 or 8 years old but you’ve had a bunch of repairs performed on it, you may need to upgrade it.

Heating Bills

Have you noticed that you’re paying more to heat your home as of late? It might cost more to run the heat despite no real increase in use. If this sounds familiar, your heating system may need to be upgraded. This is because the system isn’t as energy efficient as it used to be and this is going to hit you hard in the wallet the longer you let it continue.

But much like with determining the age of the unit first, you’ll want to get the furnace rated for a precise efficiency reading. That can tell you all you need to know about the energy efficiency of the unit. Anything below 90% is going to make your system a prime candidate for an upgrade.

Research Your System

If you think your furnace does need an upgrade, gather all the information you can about the one you have installed in your home first. This includes warranties, codes, permits, and anything else you might find important about your furnace.

Knowing all there is to know about your furnace can give you the knowledge necessary to discuss an upgrade from a position of authority when discussing the matter with an HVAC professional. You can ask the right questions with respect to getting an upgrade and you will know if the answers you are receiving are indeed correct or if the HVAC tech is trying to sell you things you may not need.

About the author