This is the time of year when you surely don’t want your furnace to die.  There’s at least 3 to 4 more months of cold weather ahead and you want to stay warm and comfortable, don’t you?  Although nobody wants to replace their furnace ever, take it from the Coop, there are usually tell-tale signs that a furnace is beginning to fail.  I love a big surprise as much as the next person, but I don’t want to be surprised by an unexpected heater failure.  The former fills my heart with warmth, but the latter leaves me cold – literally and figuratively.

Here’s my list of clues to look for if you think your furnace is starting to fail:

  1. The average life of a furnace is roughly 16-20 years old. If your furnace is 15+ years old, you will most likely need to replace your furnace in the next few years.
  2. The furnace needs repairing frequently and it’s becoming more and more expensive to operate.
  3. Rooms seem to be heating unevenly, creating an uncomfortable environment.
  4. Your furnace is making odd sounds that you’ve never heard before like rattling, humming, creaking.
  5. You’ve noticed that your home is dustier than it used to be.
  6. The furnace cycles on and off more frequently.
  7. Your energy bill is higher yet usage is about the same as previous years.
  8. You have to press the reset button often because the furnace shuts itself off.
  9. You see black smoke billowing out of your chimney which means your oil-fired furnace is not properly burning the oil, which can happen more regularly with older systems.
  10. There are visible signs of rust, corrosion, or cracks on your equipment.

If some of the above clues ring true, what do you do next?  Consider these 2 choices:

  1. Wait till your furnace dies and your house is cold, then, scurry to find anybody who can replace your furnace immediately or
  2. Get ahead of the curve by calling a professional contractor, like the folks here at Cooper Mechanical, and get an estimate to replace your furnace, in writing, so you can plan accordingly, at your convenience.

The choice is yours…but you know what the Coop would do!