It isn’t always easy to know if your furnace or boiler needs to be replaced. While you may not be able to tell it’s time just by looking at it, there are some guidelines that can help you make an informed decision.
Reliability
If you are making multiple service calls a year, your furnace may be nearing its end. A furnace that blows cold air or doesn’t turn on are symptoms of problems with the system. No matter how old your furnace is, we suggest an annual cleaning and inspection to make sure your furnace is working properly and to help identify issues. Making a proactive decision puts you in charge of when your furnace gets replaced, and can help avoid an unexpected break down at an inopportune time.
Age
The industry average for life of a furnace is somewhere around 20 years. If you are not sure how old your furnace is, ask your Dole oil service contractor the next time they are servicing your unit. It is often advisable to invest in a new heating system rather than deal with costly repairs on an aging unit.
Size
Boiler capacity is measured in BTU’s or British Thermal Units. That number represents the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of one pound of water by one degree Fahrenheit. To determine the number of BTU’s you need to heat your home, figure that you need about 50 BTU per square foot to heat a home during a Northeast winter. So, if you have a 2,000 sq. ft. home, you need a boiler that can produce approximately 100,000 BTU during a cold winter. An oversized furnace can be less efficient than a properly sized one, potentially costing more money to heat your home.
Efficiency and Savings
Furnaces have become more efficient as a result of new technology. Newer heating oil boilers have efficiencies above 80%. When shopping for a new boiler, look for the AFUE, or annual fuel utilization efficiency, label. This rating shows how efficient a boiler is at converting fuel into heating energy. An AFUE rating of 85% indicates that the boiler is highly energy efficient.
Consider all of these factors and talk with your Dole Oil representative to determine if it is time for you to replace your existing furnace or boiler.