Texas Winter is here… Fall’s high school football seasons are ending, and the holidays are flying by. Cool mornings and warm days give way to colder temperatures all day long. And briefly, the air conditioner and the furnace get a few weeks of reprieve as our moderate Winter doesn’t leave us frozen in ice for long. Inevitably, the cooling season gives way to the heating season. Your HVAC system works year-round to keep your family healthy and comfortable… until inevitably you will face a Furnace Replacement.
Making plans to replace vital HVAC systems in Winter, AKA Texas’s HVAC “Off Season,” is a wise move for many reasons. AC Tech’s more available in the winter. Manufacturer pricing and regulatory requirements on cooling equipment and model changes may not have taken effect until Spring, offering potential savings when compared to next summer. And with the brutal summer heat still, a way off, you have time to plan before being inconveniently hot while the system is down or being replaced. If you are treading that careful balance between “getting the most” out of your present equipment and avoiding an emergency situation, here are a few tips to help you make your decision.
If you listened to your system manufacturer, the Environmental Protection Agency, and about every HVAC professional, you have been scheduling annual maintenance visits. Professional technicians will have cleaned and inspected your system multiple times over the years. Perhaps small problems have been caught early, avoid a major repair; a malfunctioning sensor or switch can force other components to work harder than necessary, resulting in premature failure. All of these visits have saved wear and tear on your entire system, but even with good care, the HVAC system furnace, air handler, or condenser will need to be replaced eventually.
If you have not scheduled regular maintenance, it is never too late to begin. If small inefficiencies have accumulated, making your system work harder than it should, the overwork can lead to component failure. Some system components can be repaired; replacing some system components is so expensive that replacing the entire system is more cost-effective.
Another activity that can overwork your system and result in damage is asking for sudden temperature spikes. Heating and cooling the air is only a part of the process; the walls, floors, ceilings, and furnishings also need to be cooled or heated. Requesting serious temperature changes from your system can lead to trouble. A better approach is to patiently make small, gradual changes and give the entire environment time to change.
When your HVAC system was installed, it represented cutting-edge environmental comfort technology. While it has kept your family quite comfortable over the years, it has inevitably been losing efficiency. During the last few years of useful service, an HVAC system will require a significant increase in power to heat or cool to match the installation efficiency. When you see a sharp increase in energy bills, this is an indication of system decline.
It is not unusual for an HVAC system to encounter a problem that requires repair. When these small, minor problems increase in frequency, this may indicate failure is imminent. If humidity is on the rise, air quality is poor, remote rooms have hot or cold spots, AND the thermostat needs to be replaced, these minor things might be a foreshadowing of bigger HVAC system failures.
Ultimately, an HVAC system will fail when put under extra stress and the worn parts cease to function together. If you wait until the last minute and squeeze every month out of your system, expect the system fails to happen at a very inconvenient time for a Furnace Replacement. Expect the temperature to be either very hot or very cold. Failure will ensure that you are very uncomfortable. Deliver delays and a busy schedule will take a very long time— and any time is very long when your family is uncomfortable. It is very risky to wait until the very last minute for a Furnace Replacement.
For more information about R.M. Mullinix and Furnace Replacement, schedule an appointment, or visit our HVAC Duct Cleaning information page.