What You Must Know Before Buying a Furnace for Your Longmont Home
We know that purchasing a furnace may not be an immediate need, but it’s important to learn the keys that would impact your decision when you do need to buy a new one. Below are the top 5 considerations that Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning advises our customers to think about during their evaluation:
1. Heating Repair Frequency
Similar to any other appliance, as furnaces age, the probability of frequent heating repairs increase. If your system is over 15 years old, you might start to experience relatively expensive repairs. Some of the typical repairs include blower motor failures, ignition control failures and heat exchanger failures.
2. Operational Cost
The efficiency of gas furnaces in Longmont area homes today naturally influences your home energy bills, and the level of efficiency can vary tremendously depending upon the system you buy. Furnaces older than 15 years can be extremely inefficient, with up to 40% of your heating dollars going out the window (in a manner of speaking). Even the latest models of furnaces can waste up to 20%.
3. System Maintenance
A well maintained furnace will run more efficiently, lower the likelihood of expensive repairs and most importantly ensure your safety. Remember, these are gas-fired appliances. Another point to mention is a properly tuned furnace will last longer before replacement is required.
4. Tune-up Checks
Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning often receives questions pertaining to what really can be done to tune-up or maintain a furnace and there are actually many vital checks and calibrations in the process:
- Gas Pressure and gas valve calibration
- Cleaning and checking safety switches
- Cleaning the heat exchanger
- Inspecting the heat exchanger for dangerous conditions
- Cleaning the blower system
- Cleaning and replacement of worn ignition sensors
- And many others...
5. HVAC Maintenance Interval
A trained and certified HVAC specialist who has the education to perform a tune-up is needed to maintain heating equipment once a year. To put it bluntly, without routine maintenance, frequent repairs combined with dated equipment are some of the more obvious signs of a need to replace your furnace.
Out of control energy costs and the need to reduce energy consumption are also compelling reasons to consider replacement of your furnace. In fact, an independent study by Decision Analyst shows nearly 20% of homeowners who recently replaced their furnace specifically did so to lower their utility bills.
Longmont area homeowners seeking more information are urged to call Service Experts Heating & Air Conditioning at 303-647-5749.
