This is not a situation you want to find yourself in: a failing heater when winter is still in force. Unfortunately, you can’t always control problems like this. Excellent regular maintenance can help make emergency replacements rare, but nothing is a 100% guarantee. Your best defense against the sudden replacement blues is to catch early indicators your heater is coming close to crashing so you can call a Holly, MI, HVAC contractor to replace it. Learn to strike first!
Okay, but what are the signs to watch for of a heater that’s about to go into a crash-dive? Here are a few to look for:
The endless thermostat adjustment game
Under normal circumstances, you can leave the thermostat at one setting for most of the day and have the comfort you need, then make an adjustment to it at night. But if you and your family have discovered that getting the right temperature requires constantly adjusting the thermostat and fiddling with it, it’s a sign the heating system is starting to fail. It could be a thermostat problem, so please have a technician check the HVAC system before you make a big choice.
The cold spots around the home are just your life now
No heating system can provide completely even heating throughout a house, but a good system can get close to it. An occasional cold spot can point to a repair need or leak in the ductwork. If those cold spots become just “the way things are” for a house, that’s trouble. Uneven heating warns that the heating system’s capacity is starting to drop, and you soon won’t have any warmth at all.
The heater makes more noise than a Michael Bay Transformers movie
Maybe that’s an exaggeration (those movies are just endless noise, aren’t they?), but when your heater is generally making a racket in a way it never did before, it tends to mean it’s suffered too much wear and tear. Grinding and shrieking sounds often mean the mechanical parts of the heater are close to shot, and you may soon have burnt-out motors and a fully non-working heater.
The heater is older than the Great Pyramid of Giza
Understanding how long your heating system is expected to last is important in helping you know when to start looking for a replacement. Heating system life expectancy depends on the type of heater. Gas furnaces can last from 15 to 20 years, electric furnaces over 20 years, and heat pumps from 10 to 15. If your heater is over its life expectancy hump, we recommend planning a replacement—and if it’s showing any of the signs above, it’s time to move it up on your calendar of “to-dos”!
If your heating system is actually older than the Great Pyramid—roughly 4,500 years—you probably already have a good offer from a historical society you should consider. We can help you pick a great replacement for it!
First Choice Heating & Cooling is here to help when you think you’re ready for a new heating system. If your home had a voice … it would call First Choice!