Signs It’s Time to Replace Your Old Furnace

It’s fall maintenance time for heating systems. Is it time to replace your furnace instead?

A high-efficiency upgrade is a significant investment, but one you make infrequently. Most furnaces can last 20-30 years, and seasonal furnace tune-ups can help your system keep working for a long time while keeping energy bills down. However, some signs that it’s time to replace your old furnace may show up sooner than that, around the 15-year mark.

It is worth noting that manufacturer warranties are only 10 years—after which HVAC systems start losing efficiency. So, if components stop functioning and need replacing due to manufacturer defect, that leaves around five years after the warranty period during which HVAC performance starts its decline. Add in the cost of necessary repairs as furnace ages, availability of parts for older units, and potentially higher utility bills because of reduced performance, and furnace replacement starts making financial sense.

Signs of declining furnace performance
Is your furnace trying to tell you something? Even homeowners who schedule annual fall maintenance checks on their system may experience:

• frequent and increasingly expensive repairs
• unusual noises coming from the heating system
• heat in the house is uneven
• the furnace is short cycling (turning on and off frequently)
• energy bills have been going up
• the furnace has visible rust and corrosion
• soot, dust, or rust is being expelled around the register

Yes, replacing a furnace is expensive—and worth it
The price depends on the type of unit you are installing. In North Jersey, most homeowners heat with forced hot air (gas furnaces) or steam or hot water boilers (for oil-heated homes). Including installation fees, gas furnace replacement costs $10,000-15,000 and dual fuel hybrid systems, comprising a gas furnace and heat pump (a growing trend in heating solutions) cost between $15,000 and $22,000, based on the equipment chosen and size of the home. You can read about how we calculate energy load and system size here. Given the cold winters we’ve been experiencing the last few years, no one wants to be without heat or be stuck with a furnace that’s not delivering heat as needed (or at all).

Newer heating systems are more energy efficient than the ones installed 15 or 20 years ago. The high-efficiency gas furnaces on the market today can reach 96% efficiency, meaning 96 cents out of every dollar spent on fuel becomes heat inside the building. This efficiency is achieved through variable-speed motors, dual-fuel heat pump systems, and other technological innovations (such as smart thermostats) that improve heating system performance while saving homeowners money.

Another way for NJ homeowners to save money is with Carrier Cool Cash rebates, available through November 20, 2026, with up to $2100 in rebates on Carrier’s Infinity and Performance series equipment. In addition, qualified PSE&G customers can also enjoy zero percent financing for seven years on new systems valued up to $25,000.

Schedule your heating season tune-up with Bloomfield Cooling, Heating & Electric
There’s still time to take advantage of our pre-season maintenance discount and save $40 (per unit) on a comprehensive furnace check, through November 12. Call our office at 973-237-0505 to set up your appointment and head into heating season with the assurance your furnace will perform at its best.