If you’ve had your furnace for longer than a couple of years, chances are you’ve had to have some repairs done on it. The occasional need for repair is common, even in younger furnaces. Sometimes, things simply break. There are some times, however, that signal a need to replace your furnace. Below, we’ll outline some of those times, and how you can recognize them.
Short-Cycling
Short-cycling is what it’s called when your furnace keeps turning on and off rapidly throughout the day. This is caused by something causing your furnace to overheat. When your furnace turns on, the rapid increase in heat levels causes the furnace control system to think its overheating. The furnace shuts down as a safety measure. Then, once it’s cooled off, it starts up again and the whole cycle repeats. This can be a massive waste of energy, and shortens the life of your furnace even more. If you experience this symptom, turn your furnace off and call a professional.
Rise in Breakdown Frequency
As mentioned above, sometimes things just break and need repairs. As your furnace nears the end of its life, however, the cumulative wear and tear will cause parts to start failing in rapid succession or even simultaneously. This can be fought off for a while, through regular annual maintenance. Eventually, however, this problem visits all older furnaces that are ready to be replaced.
You could simply continue to repair and replace these parts as they fail, but you should consider the financial impact of doing so. Some of these parts, like the heat exchanger, are quite expensive to replace. If you try to keep a furnace alive for too long after you were supposed to have replaced it, you may have spent more money on parts than it would have cost to simply get a new furnace. Not to mention that at that point, most of your original furnace would probably be gone anyway.
If your furnace seems like it needs to be replaced, call A–Professional Heating and Air Conditioning. Our heating professionals cover all of Ponchatoula, LA.