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Schedule Service Today for Same Day Service
Family Owned and Operated
Salt of the Earth Service
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Your furnace should last 15 to 20 years but ensuring your unit will last that long will require the experience and skills of our certified technicians at SALT. If you don’t know the age of the current furnace in your Austin, TX, home, you should prepare for a furnace replacement.
We can evaluate your furnace to help you understand more about its current condition. This analysis will help you keep the unit in good working order until it is time for a replacement. When you are ready for a new furnace installation, we can help you choose the best model for your home.
Even if your older furnace still seems to be operating well enough, you may want to upgrade to a newer unit. There are several reasons that a newer furnace may be a more attractive option.
Since technology is constantly changing, a new furnace can help you take advantage of new green tech innovations that will help you conserve energy and save money.
Better Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency
Annual fuel utilization efficiency or AFUE is a measurement system used to evaluate a furnace’s thermal efficiency. An older furnace with a 65% AFUE rating will output 65 BTUs of heat for every 100 BTUs of fuel used by the system. Newer models offer much higher AFUE ratings, ranging from 90% to 97%.
Cleaner Air
Over time, the filtration system in your current furnace will degrade, limiting how well pollutants and allergens can be removed from the treated air.
When you schedule a furnace replacement, the new unit will clean the air better. Newer models offer more efficient filtering technology that wasn’t available when your current furnace was manufactured.
Quieter Operation
The furnace you currently have in your Austin, TX, home probably makes noise when it kicks on. Even if there isn’t the unusual rattling common with old units, the technology didn’t exist to create quieter furnaces in the past.
Today, furnaces are designed with sound dampening materials to allow people to heat their homes without these distracting noises.
You may choose to wait until the last minute before you schedule a furnace replacement for your Austin, TX, home. In that situation, you will want to know the signs that indicate your furnace is about to fail. If you notice any of these symptoms of a failing furnace, you should plan for a new furnace installation as soon as possible:
Higher Energy Costs
If your utility bills indicate a rise in energy usage in your home and you haven’t added any appliances, this could indicate a failing furnace.
Even if the unit isn’t malfunctioning, an older unit will still use more energy. An HVAC technician can tell you if there’s a specific reason your furnace is using more energy to heat the same amount of living space.
There’s More Dust
If you have noticed that there’s more dust in your home than usual, check the air filter on your heating system. If the filter is clean, there may be something wrong with another component of your furnace’s air filtration system. A technician can tell you if you can repair the problem or if you’ll need a full furnace replacement.
Unusual Sounds or Odors
It’s important to pay close attention to any new sounds or odors in your Austin, TX, home when you operate your furnace. If you haven’t operated the unit in several months, you should expect a slightly unpleasant odor as the dust in the machinery burns away. However, that odor should dissipate within a few minutes.
Any other odors or odd sounds should be reported to your HVAC technician as soon as possible. Unusual odors may indicate that the system lacks lubrication or burns fuel improperly. Loud sounds, such as a knocking sound or the sound of metal rubbing against metal, can indicate a broken fan or other malfunctioning machinery.
Frequent Cycling
If your furnace is kicking on more frequently than usual or running consistently, this indicates that the unit is struggling to keep up with the home’s heating demands. Such struggling is usually the result of a furnace that’s too old and worn to continue operating efficiently. In this case, it’s time to think about replacing the unit.
