Did you know that one of the top reasons for home fires is heating equipment malfunctions? Your central heating system (also called forced-air furnace, gas furnaces, or heaters) helps your family stay warm in winter and helps remove moisture from the air throughout the year. It’s important to make sure your furnace functions properly because it could be hazardous if it doesn’t. Here are some signs that heating unit replacement in Forney, TX may be needed:
- Your furnace has been installed for more than 20 years. Central heating systems lose about 3% – 5% of their energy efficiency each year. That means a 20-year-old furnace may only be 65% – 80% efficient. If your utility bills have been steadily increasing even a little each year, a new furnace could save you a lot of money.
- Your furnace was recently upgraded from a non-condensing model to a condensing heating system. The efficiency of your furnace is rated by its Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) rating. In the past, many furnaces were not condensing heating systems and had AFUE ratings in the 60% range. If your home has been upgraded to a 90% AFUE or higher heating system, it will be more energy efficient which could mean big savings on utility bills. Many homeowners can recover their investment within five years or less!
- You’ve noticed a drop in hot water temperature when using your clothes washer, dishwasher, or bath/shower. If your central heating system is not working as efficiently as it once did, that means you’re losing a lot of heat through the ducts. Less heat will reach your hot water heater and may cause the temperature to increase. However, if the hot water seems lukewarm or doesn’t last as long as it used to, you need to schedule heating services in Forney, TX to check out the problem right away because you might also have lost heating efficiency in your hot water heater too.
- You hear strange noises coming from your furnace. Grinding sounds could indicate bearing failure on an older furnace. A new furnace with a sealed combustion chamber prevents this sort of noise by keeping all of the fumes inside where they belong instead of letting them escape into the home.
- There is visible rust or corrosion on your furnace. Reduced airflow through an older, less-efficient heating system can cause excessive moisture and rust. Although you may not see condensation if your heating system is very old and inefficient, you might spot black soot deposits that indicate it’s time to replace your heater.
- A qualified professional has tuned up your heating equipment in the past two years. When a trained technician inspects and adjusts your furnace, they use special instruments to check efficiency during every step of the heating cycle: ignition, light off (burner), light on (combustion), and shut down (exhaust). The most important step in making sure you have an efficient furnace is to have your heating equipment tuned up at least once every year or two.
- You smell fumes coming from your furnace. A leak in the heat exchanger could mean that poisonous carbon monoxide is escaping into your home. Carbon monoxide is colorless, odorless, and deadly. If you smell fumes, call a professional immediately! Even if you don’t smell anything unusual, it’s important to schedule regular tune-ups of your furnace because small problems can turn into large ones without warning.
- You see no obvious signs of trouble with your heating equipment but it has been installed for more than ten years. Your current heating system may still be operating efficiently but it will probably need replacement within five years unless you had it upgraded recently. That’s because older heating systems lose efficiency as the years go by. Replacing your heating system every ten years is a good rule of thumb but you should have it replaced earlier if it’s less than 90% efficient and later if it’s more than 120% efficient.
- You need to replace your furnace or heating system soon anyway. If you’re planning on selling your home any time soon, you probably want to install a new high-efficiency model before listing it for sale. When buyers know that the house has an energy-efficient heating system, they will be much more likely to offer a competitive price!
At Cyclone Heating & Air, we install new high-efficiency furnaces that can save you hundreds on your utility bills each year. Our technicians are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to schedule heating replacements for homes throughout the Forney, TX area. Call us at 469-747-2152 for additional details.