For homeowners in San Antonio, TX, purchasing a new heating system is a big decision. Since we don’t get too many frigid nights here in the winter, it means making a major investment that could take years to pay off. For that reason, it isn’t uncommon for homeowners to try and maximize the useful life of their home’s current heating system whenever possible. However, spending money to repair your heating system isn’t always the best option. Sometimes, investing in a new heating system is the right choice, even if you’re not keen on doing it. Here is how you can tell whether you should repair your existing heating system or replace it.
Consider Your Heating System’s Expected Lifespan
The first thing you should consider when you’re deciding between repairing and replacing your heating system is to determine the age of the existing system. Different types of heating systems have different expected lifespans. If your heating system is nearing its expected end of life, a repair is almost always the wrong thing to do. It means you’ll spend a significant sum and still need a new heating system anyway.
On average, you can expect an electric furnace to last for between 20 and 30 years. A gas furnace should give you between 15 and 20 years of reliable service. And if your home has a heat pump, you can expect a maximum of 15 years from it before you’ll need a new one. Of course, those averages are for well-maintained heating equipment, so if you haven’t kept your heating system in good condition, you should expect a shorter lifespan.
Weigh the Cost of the Repair
In some cases, repairing your heating system is the wrong decision, even if it’s still within its expected service life. This can happen whenever a needed repair would cost you over 50% of what a replacement would cost. At that point, you’d be taking a major risk by going ahead with a repair. Since there’s no guarantee how much more use you’d get out of your repaired system, opting for a replacement is a better option. Even though you’d spend more money, you’d also get a brand-new warranty and the peace of mind that comes with it.
Even if the repair would cost less than 50% of a replacement, it still might not be worth it. For repairs like that, you can follow the rule of $5,000. Just multiply the cost of the repair by the age of your heating system. If the result comes to more than $5,000, the repair is a bad idea. This can help you to factor in approximately how many years your heating system has left compared with the cost of extending its life.
Think About Your Heating System’s Repair History
Did you know that, on average, a heating system suffers the majority of its breakdowns within the final two years of its useful life? For that reason, it’s a good idea to think about your heating system’s repair history before you make your decision. In general, a reliable heating system should never need more than a single significant repair in any 12 months. If yours has broken down already within that time frame, there’s a good chance it will happen again, even if you go through with another repair.
Look At Your Energy Bills
Finally, you should also take a look at your home’s winter energy bills before you choose to repair your existing heating system. If you notice that your heater’s operating expenses keep climbing, you might want to think twice about a repair. You should consider that extending your heating system’s lifespan also means continuing to see rising energy bills.
You should at least look into the efficiency levels of the replacement heating systems in your price range. It may turn out that the energy savings you’d realize with a new heating system would more than justify its cost.
No matter what decision you make, be it a repair or a replacement, MD Air Conditioning & Heating can help. We’ve served San Antonio homeowners for more than 20 years, offering the finest HVAC installation, maintenance, and repair services around. We even handle commercial HVAC systems and offer indoor air quality services, too. If you need help fitting a new heating system into your household budget, we even offer financing options on approved credit to help you. So, if you need a heating system repaired or replaced in San Antonio, call the experts at MD Air Conditioning & Heating today!
Tags: Heating Systems, HVAC