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Reasons To Let Go of Your Old HVAC System

Replace your old HVAC system

HVAC or heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning refer to indoor devices that are designed to provide comfortable and acceptable air quality in residences and commercial spaces.

This is the technology that heats and cools your home, including products like air-conditioners, furnaces, heat pumps, as well as thermostats, ductwork, and the like.

To simply put it, your home’s HVAC system is important to keep your home comfortable no matter the weather or season. Because of this, regular maintenance is essential to ensure that your heating and cooling system works as efficiently for as long as possible.

HVAC Maintenance is Very Important

Maintaining your home’s HVAC system is important as it is part of protecting your investment. After all, you’ve spent a good amount of money on your home’s heating and cooling devices.

Here are a few reasons HVAC maintenance is completely necessary.

It can help lower utility bills

A home with heating and cooling systems that work optimally can spend less money on electricity since your home will be properly insulated whenever you need it. To ensure that your HVAC unit works efficiently all the time though, you will need regular preventive maintenance.

The Comfy Buddy tells more about efficient heating and cooling appliances that could help lower your electricity bills. If you are dealing with high energy bills, maybe it’s time check your appliances’ efficiency.

It ensures healthy air

If your HVAC unit is properly maintained, it will keep your home cool and warm. Aside from that, it can maintain the air quality inside your abode since filters and coils will be cleaned, ensuring that the quality of the air your family will breathing in.
Also, you can prevent dirt, mold, and disease-causing bacteria to breed in your HVAC system.

It will lengthen the lifespan of your HVAC unit

Since heating and cooling devices are quite expensive, you’ll want to make the most of them and use them for as long as possible. One way to extend the life of an old HVAC device is to maintain it properly, which could make a unit last for more than 10 years.

It will help you save time and money in the long run

A well-maintained heating or cooling device will work efficiently for a long time. Research proves that a dirty or unmaintained HVAC system will work harder by 20%. Aside from that, there will be lesser energy expended from the unit.

It will be less costly to maintain

If your HVAC system is regularly serviced, it will take a long time before you’re going to need to have it repaired or replaced. Aside from that, keeping your unit up-to-date will also mean that its parts and components are still working fine, allowing you to save more money in the end.

It’s for safety purposes

Old HVAC systems can be a safety hazard. Checking your furnace for cracks should be done regularly to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. You should also make it a point to check for faulty wiring or stuck valves, which only need repair.

When to Replace an Old HVAC Unit?

While proper and regular maintenance is important to ensure that your HVAC system is working optimally, an old unit should be replaced immediately.

Take a look at the tell-tale signs that your heating and cooling system does need to be replaced already.

HVAC unit is more than 10 years old

One of the most crucial factors when deciding whether to replace your old furnace or air-conditioning unit or not is age. If you multiply the age of your heating or cooling device by the repair cost and it exceeds $5,000, then it’s time to let go and replace it.

Energy efficiency is important to you

Energy Star, a program of the US Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that promotes energy efficiency, suggests that a 10-year old or older central heating or cooling device should be upgraded to a more energy-efficient one.

While your AC unit may still be running and cooling a room in your house, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s working at full capacity.

You can hire a contractor to run an energy assessment to find out if there are energy leaks and whether you need to repair or replace your unit.

Return on your investment

Oftentimes, repairing an old HVAC system will only add a year or two to its lifetime.

This means that the cost of repair doesn’t justify the number of years you’ll still be able to use the device because you’ll usually pay a hefty price to fix an old device.

In other words, you don’t get a good return on investment. This is why replacing it with a more energy-efficient unit would be a better choice. Besides, a replacement will save you more money in the long run.

Frequency and severity of breakdowns

If your furnace or AC unit breaks down more than once a month, then you have a problem.

Of course, you’ll have it repaired now and then, which can put a huge dent on your finances. This can add to your stress and worries since repairs can be quite expensive, especially when it involves replacing certain parts and components.

AC system uses R 22 Freon

Older air-conditioning units use Freon. But since these older units are susceptible to leaks, you might need to recharge it with more Freon.

However, the federal government has banned the use of Freon on AC units in an effort to protect the ozone layer. This has resulted in the cost of Freon to skyrocket. This is why you’ll need to replace your AC with a modern system that has an Energy Star rating.

Your home isn’t cooled or heated enough

An aging air conditioner or an incorrectly sized system will not be able to cool or heat off your home properly.

This can affect the quality of the air inside your home, making it less comfortable. So if your old HVAC system isn’t doing its job properly, then you have to replace it with a unit that works fine.

Conclusion

Should you replace your heating and cooling equipment?

Consider the factors listed above to help you determine the best answer to that question. You don’t want to be spending money unnecessarily, especially if all your HVAC device needs is some TLC.

Article written by:

I am a writer and reporter for the clean energy sector, I cover climate change issues, new clean technologies, sustainability and green cars. Danny Ovy

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