West Allis Furnace Repair | When to buy a new system

Deciding when to purchase a new system
First of all, if your heating system is less than 20 years old, it should still have some life left in it. You can expect as many as 20 to 25 years of service from properly installed and maintained heating equipment. To help make this long service life a reality, it is a good idea to have your heating system inspected and adjusted on an annual basis. If your system is over 10 years old, then you should definitely place it on an annual maintenance program. Good preventive maintenance will ensure that your system runs safely and efficiently for a long time.
Eventually, however, an older system may need to be replaced. You should replace your heating system when it is no longer cost effective to keep it in good working order. Your heating system has reached this point if one of the following statements is true:

1. The heating equipment has an unsafe condition which can't be repaired
2. Your old system is so inefficient that a replacement would pay for itself in energy savings.

An unsafe condition can sometimes develop in an older furnace. This occurs when cracks or leaks develop in the heat exchanger. The purpose of the heat exchanger is to keep the hot exhaust gases separate from the warm air which circulates through the ductwork and house. When there is a leak in the heat exchanger, poisonous gases and carbon monoxide can accumulate in the house.

Although boilers are less likely to fail than furnaces, they can also develop unsafe conditions. For example, in a boiler a low water level can result when any one of several different components either malfunctions or fails. Most boilers have a safety device called a low water fuel cut-off, which is designed to shut down the boiler when this occurs. If the low water fuel cut-off is faulty or missing, then the boiler will overheat and will be permanently damaged.
It will not be as obvious when your heating system has become obsolete due to its poor efficiency. Efficiency can be measured, however, and you should have your system tested when an annual inspection is performed. If your heating system is operating below 70% then new equipment is available with substantially higher efficiency. For example, a new 90% efficient furnace will save 22% of the fuel use of a 70% efficient furnace. The amount of money you will save depends on how much you presently spend on energy for heating your house. This can be estimated by one of the following methods:

1. Review your natural gas, propane, or oil bills.

To elaborate on method number 2, there is a simple analysis that you can do to estimate your heating energy use from your fuel bills. If you heat with one of these fuels then compare your usage in the winter to your usage in the summer. Your summer use, if any, is for cooking, water heating, and clothes drying. These are pretty constant uses throughout the year. If you average your summer use and then multiply by 12, you have an estimate of your annual non-heating fuel use. Subtract this amount from your total fuel use to estimate how much fuel you buy per year to heat your home. Multiply this amount by the winter fuel rate to obtain your annual heating bill.