Wondering If You Should Replace Your Furnace? Learn The Signs That Tell You It’s Time

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How’s your furnace doing these days? Did it get you through last winter in comfort, or are you worried about its performance — or even its safety — this winter?

Is it making strange noises that reverberate through your greater Cincinnati home? These are just some of the questions that you should ask yourself when you’re deciding whether to replace your furnace.

There are many variables involved in this decision, and each one weighs more or less, depending on what’s important to you. Here’s the core list of factors to consider when you’re deciding if this is the year for a new heating system:

  • All those years: If you have a furnace that’s 15 years old or older, consider a high-efficiency replacement that carries the Energy Star label. There’s a good chance that the annual fuel utilization efficiency of your present furnace is lower than 70 percent. That’s money you’re sending up the chimney. In comparison, any furnace that you purchase today must have an AFUE of at least 78 percent. And some high-efficiency furnaces have AFUEs of nearly 100 percent. That means you’re wasting hardly any energy or money, and you’re helping the planet by significantly reducing your carbon emissions.
  • All that inconvenience: If your heating system often needs repairs, it’s not only annoying, uncomfortable and time-wasting, but also costly. Think about applying that repeated-repair money to a new system.
  • All those energy bills: If your energy bills are soaring, replacing your furnace with a highly efficient model will allow you to take charge of those bills. In fact, the payback period on a high-efficiency furnace can be just a few years.
  • All that discomfort: If certain rooms in your home are too hot or too cold, you might need to add insulation, and you might also benefit from a zoned system. Zoning directs conditioned air where it’s needed, allowing you to warm or cool one area more than others.
  • All that humidity: Poorly performing equipment, inadequate system capacity and/or leaky ducts may make the air overly dry in wintertime and/or too humid in the summer months.

Need help deciding whether to replace your furnace? Would you like help selecting new equipment and features? For assistance with complicated choices such as these, rely on the expertise of Apollo Home Heating, Cooling & Plumbing. We’re happy to help. Visit our website for valuable HVAC information, or just give us a call.

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"Ernie & Mike did a superb job on my new furnace and A/C installation. Despite having more than a day’s work to do, they came in and stayed until the job was done. They were organized, efficient, and protected the rest of the house well. Got both furnace and A/C installed the same day. Ernie was courteous, informative, and clearly knew his job better than anyone I’ve encountered before. The units look so good guests now get The Tour of our new system. Apollo is clearly not a fly-by-night company. I would recommend them to anyone in need of a new furnace and/or A/C."
- Jerry A.
"I called Apollo because of a water leak I thought I had in our upstairs shower going into the kitchen. Robbie came and assured me everything was fine & looked at all the other plumbing. He ended up changing a few pipes for our washer & clearing a drain. He was very nice & knowledgeable with all my questions. I ended up signing up for the care plan & was very happy with my service."
- Cassandra B.
"The team at Apollo exceeded my expectations. As a business owner, my attention to the details and commitment to providing excellent service is high. From the sales rep. to the installation team, everyone’s performance was outstanding. For example, the installation team went to great lengths to protect our floors, placing floor runners and across the wood floors and up the stairs. They even were spot washing walls upon their departure. I highly recommend this company."
- Randy B.
"We scheduled an estimate AND a tune-up. We knew something was wrong with our furnace, but hoped we could make it through the rest of the season. Upon telling Bill what our furnace was doing, he warned us immediately what the possible outcome was going to be; a cracked heat exchanger. He watched the flames roll backward, tested carbon monoxide levels, which were so high they meter’s last reading was 5,600 before saying “high”. He immediately shut it down, tagged it, and explained that with levels that high and children in our home he wanted off right away. He continued his inspection and showed us via a camera that not only was it cracked in multiple places, but had holes all over it. He gave us a few options for repairing it; his knowledge as well as genuine concern was beneficial and refreshing. Luckily we also scheduled an estimator, Micah, to come too and we were able to get costs between repairing and replacing (with several options). We decided to replace with a much higher efficiency furnace and one sized properly to our home. Hands down, not only did they both provide us great service and knowledge, but without sounding dramatic, they may have saved our lives. This was our first time calling Apollo, but it won’t be our last."
- Sarah B.
"Apollo is an excellent company. I always receive great service. Alex A. was professional and friendly. He kept me informed during the process of checking my furnace and heat pump to make sure they were working properly. The company makes sure you are notified who is coming and when they are on the way. All my interactions with the company have been wonderful."
- Beverly S.
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