In the cold winter months, the last thing anyone wants to be made aware of is a problem with the heat in his or her home. Most times, people fail to get help from a Newtown heating specialist until there is a major problem, but before that occurs there will be signs alerting you to the problem you may have. Knowing the problem before it is irreparable is important because furnaces function much like cars. As they age, and parts are no longer working, you then enter a never-ending cycle of replacing parts and then replacing parts because you replaced another part. This not only is very frustrating, but it can also get very expensive. By keeping a close eye on the functioning of your furnace you will be able to recognize a major problem before it starts sucking up all of your money.
Age Does Not Make the Furnace Wiser
Just with any other major piece of machinery, furnaces will get weaker with age. You do not want to be put in a situation where you are shopping for a new furnace in a panic. The general life span of a furnace is between 16 and 20 years, and if you are near there then you should start looking for a new one. If you are unsure here is a good way to generally place the age of your furnace, does it have a pilot light? If so than the unit is no less than 25 years old. Choosing a furnace is not a knee jerk decision so do yourself a favor by being prepared before you are forced to buy one.
Bills, Bills, Bills
Have you noticed that your heating costs are going up? Do you believe this is just due to the rising costs of gas and electric? Do not be so quick to make a conclusion because as a furnace ages it loses efficiency and that in turn could be raising your heating bill. Sometimes the furnace will need to run longer in order to get the home heated to the desired temperature and this will impact your heating costs.
Moving Room to Room
Another sign that your furnace may be on its last legs is if you notice that different rooms in your house seem to be different temperature. This may have you running to your thermostat, constantly increasing or decreasing the temperature. This problem is most likely due to your furnace being unable to evenly distribute heat anymore. If you are having problems with your heating, do not wait until it is too late. Speak with a Newtown heating specialist before the winter months arrive.
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Patrick Whalen is a part of an elite team of writers who have contributed to hundreds of blogs and news sites. Follow him @2patwhalen.