Fairview residents know how long and cold some winters can get. When faced with weeks of below-freezing temperatures, you rely on your heater to keep your family warm and safe, and the last thing you need is for it to fail.
At Gresham Heating and Air Conditioning, we offer the most reliable heating solutions to keep the cold at bay. We work with professional-grade brands like Maytag and Ruud and offer the best warranties in the industry.
Whether it’s a heater tune up or a new furnace installation, you can count on our experts to do the job quickly at an affordable price.
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Warning Signs You May Need Furnace Replacement
Imagine waking up to a freezing home on a cold winter morning because your furnace failed during the night. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence, especially for people who fail at heating maintenance.
Avoiding sudden heater failure is easy if you know the warning signs indicating that your system needs servicing.
Cold Spots
If you have a central heater and notice some rooms in your house are colder than others, it could mean you have obstructions in your ductwork, or it could be an issue with the heater itself.
Foul Odors
The air coming out of your registers shouldn’t have an odor, so if you notice musty or moldy smells of burning electrical odor, it’s wise to call a technician as soon as possible.
Rising Heating Bills
As your heater or furnace ages, it loses efficiency, which means it works harder to do its job, and that translates to more money out of your pocket in higher heating bills. Fortunately, in most cases, you can solve this problem with a heater tune up.
Loud Noises
It’s normal for your furnace to make some ambient noise when running; however, if you hear screeching, rattling, grinding, or banging, it usually means you have worn-out parts or a loose connection.
If you notice any of these or any other strange issues with your heater, call the Gresham Heating and Air Conditioning professionals as soon as possible.
Now, let’s look at how routine heating maintenance protects your system from the wear and tear that causes these problems.
5 Benefits of Heating Maintenance
Your home’s heater is a complex machine with many mechanical and electrical components, all of which must work perfectly together to get the most out of the system.
Over time, these components wear out, throwing the system out of sync, making it work harder.
Just like a car needs oil changes and new brake pads every few thousand miles, your heater benefits greatly from regular maintenance.
Here are the top five benefits of keeping your furnace in top form.
It’s Safer & More Reliable
Because the average heater runs for years without incident, it’s easy to think there’s no danger in overlooking routine maintenance. However, a malfunctioning heater can be a fire hazard, and a malfunctioning furnace can cause carbon monoxide poisoning. A regular check-up ensures your heater or furnace works safely and reliably.
Improved Energy Efficiency
When a heater develops problems, either from wear and tear or age, it loses efficiency, which means it uses more energy to do its job and costs you more money every month to operate. When you perform annual heating maintenance and tune-ups, you ensure your system is always in top form, thus reducing your energy bills.
Avoid Costly Breakdowns & System Failure
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and that can’t be more true than with heater maintenance. Routine maintenance allows you to find minor issues and fix them before they escalate into something needing costly repairs or a new furnace installation.
Better Air Quality
Think about how much air your furnace moves through your home during winter. Now imagine that air is filled with dust, germs, bacteria, pet dander, mold, and mildew. If you or someone in your family struggles with allergies or respiratory problems, regular heater maintenance ensures the system and the air coming out of it are clean and healthy.
Improved Comfort
Do you notice some rooms in your home are cooler than others? Do you find you’re constantly fiddling with the thermostat to try to get comfortable? If so, it probably means your heater is out of sync and not performing to its full capacity. A furnace tune-up is a sure-fire way to restore your system to proper working condition.
Gresham Heating and Air Conditioning is a family-owned and operated company. Before calling another furnace contractor, please check out our customer reviews.
Should You Repair or Replace Your Furnace?
A new furnace installation is a significant home investment, so you must do everything possible to extend the system's lifespan. While it’s natural to put off replacing the furnace, sometimes it’s the most economical option.
Here’s how to know when it’s better to replace your furnace instead of repairing it.
Age
The average lifespan of a furnace is 12 to 15 years. If your system is more than 13 years old, you’re better off installing a new one at that point.
Repair Frequency
As your heater gets older, it needs more and more repairs to keep it going. However, at some point, it doesn’t make financial sense to pour money into a system that’s past its prime when you could put it towards a new, more reliable heater.
Repair vs. Replacement Cost
Most heating contractors will tell you it’s better to replace your heater if the cost of repairing it is 50% or more than the cost of a new system.
Warranties
If the warranty has expired on your heater or furnace, it’s often more economical to spring for a new system than fix the old one.
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