Three Signs You Need To Replace Your Furnace

Posted on: 26 February 2018

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Your furnace is an essential appliance within your home, as it is the only thing that keeps your house comfortable during the winter months. However, it also plays an important role in improving your home's air quality, which is directly related to your respiratory health, and can help prevent freezing damage in your plumbing and other systems which can be destructive and expensive to fix. As such, a malfunctioning or failing furnace can cause a whole host of problems to your household. Fortunately, there are a number of warning signs that you can watch out for to determine when you should contact an HVAC technician to have your unit inspected and replaced if necessary.

Strange Noises

The easiest to notice, and usually one of the first, warning signs to manifest itself in a failing furnace is some sort of irregular noise. This can point to a broken component, like a fan belt or blower, that is causing undue stress on other components within the furnace, or can be caused by constant cycling of the furnace as it struggles to maintain temperature levels despite a reduction in your unit's effectiveness. A professional inspection can pinpoint the issue and figure out if it can be fixed or if the unit should be replaced.

Poor Air Flow

Another good indicator that there is something wrong with your furnace is if you notice that no hot air is moving through the vents in your home. This usually points to excessive wear to the internal parts of your furnace, which will stop the furnace from functioning at all. It's important to note, however, that sometimes a lack of airflow can point to blockages in your ductwork — a professional inspection can determine which of the two is the real issue, and then provide you with different options to fix the problem.

Increased Energy Consumption

Finally, one of the most obvious indicators that may cause you to need to have a professional look at your furnace is a noticeable spike in energy consumption, increasing your energy bills, without a corresponding increase in the amount of electricity that you are using in the rest of your house. This can point to some sort of mechanical issue that is causing your furnace to work ineffectively or too often, greatly increasing energy consumption without any sort of noticeable increase in the temperatures within your home. Sometimes, this can be fixed by replacing a single malfunctioning part, but if your furnace is an older unit, you may have to replace the entire thing.

Contact a company like Heatcraft Heating & Cooling for more information.