5 Signs You Need to Have Your Older Furnace Replaced

Furnaces last between 15 and 20 years on average. You may assume you can just keep using your furnace until it stops heating your home. However, it’s usually best to replace a furnace before it fails completely so you’re not left without heat for a few days. How do you know when your older furnace is due for replacement? Here are five signs to watch out for.

1. Loud Scraping Noises While the Furnace Operates

Not all furnace noises are serious. A popping noise when the furnace kicks on might just mean the burner needs to be cleaned. Then, squealing usually just means that the belt in the blower motor is fraying and needs to be replaced.

However, if your old furnace starts making a loud, metallic scraping sound when it turns on, then this may mean that the furnace’s life span has come to an end. The blower assembly may be broken, or it may have dropped into the housing. This issue is expensive to repair, and it’s often not worth the investment if your furnace is older.

2. Increased Indoor Allergy Symptoms

Do you have an allergy to mold spores, dust, or pet dander? Have you noticed that your symptoms have been worse this winter than in years past? Maybe you have also noticed more of these substances accumulating on your surfaces – despite regular cleaning practices.

The core problem might be your old furnace. As furnaces age, they tend to operate less cleanly. Changing your filter more often and having your ducts cleaned might help, but the best way to get super-clean indoor air is to invest in a new furnace.

3. Chemical Odors That Induce Headaches

If there is a strange chemical odor coming from your ducts and causing headaches, then your furnace might have a cracked heat exchanger. This is a pretty serious problem because it can cause carbon monoxide to leak into your indoor air. People die from carbon monoxide poisoning each year in the United States. At lower levels, the gas can cause nausea, confusion, and fatigue.

While your furnace contractor could just replace the broken heat exchanger, this is an expensive repair. You’re better off just getting a new furnace if yours is more than 10 years old.

4. Soot On or Near the Furnace

Black soot on or near the furnace – or even on the wall or ceiling near a heating vent – can also indicate that your heat exchanger has cracked. When the heat exchanger is cracked, the fuel is not burned completely, which causes soot to build up.

You cannot tell whether a heat exchanger is cracked just by looking at it. However, soot accumulation is a pretty dependable symptom of this dangerous problem that warrants furnace replacement.

5. Soaring Energy Bills

Older furnaces were not made to be as efficient as new ones, so your energy bills will be higher than those of a friend with a brand-new furnace – even if your older furnace is working just fine. What you should really be watching out for is an increase in your energy bills compared to past months and years with the same furnace.

Furnaces become even less efficient as they age. If yours has begun to use an exorbitant amount of energy, there are probably some failing parts. A new furnace will soon pay for itself in energy savings.

If you’ve noticed any of the signs above, it’s time to say goodbye to your old furnace and to welcome a new one into your life. Contact us at Eubanks Air Conditioning & Appliance Service to learn more about our heating installation services.

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